第23章

Well，itmustbeanewexperience——forCyril。Foramanwhosedailyexistenceforyearshasbeenrubber-heeledandwoolen-padded，andwhosefamilyfromboyhoodhasstoodatattentionandsalutedifhesomuchaslookedatthem，itmustbequiteachange，asthingsarenow。

However，it’llbedifferent，ofcourse，whenMarieisonherfeetagain。’

Doessheknowatallhowthingsaregoing？’

Notverymuch，asyet，thoughIbelieveshehasbeguntoworrysome。Sheconfidedtomeonedaythatshewasglad，ofcourse，thatshehadtwodarlingbabies，insteadofone；butthatshewasafraiditmightbehard，justatfirst，toteachthembothatoncetobequiet；forshewasafraidthatwhileshewasteachingone，theotherwouldbesuretocry，ordosomethingnoisy。’

Dosomethingnoisy，indeed!’ejaculatedAuntHannah。

Asfortherealstateofaffairs，Mariedoesn’tdreamthatCyril’ssacreddenisgivenovertoTeddybearsandbabyblankets。Allis，Ihopeshe’llbemeasurablystrongbeforeshedoesfinditout，’laughedBilly，assheroseto

WilliamcamebackfromhisbusinesstriptheeighthofJuly，andontheninthBillyandBertramwenttoNewYork。Eliza’smotherwassowellnowthatElizahadtakenupheroldquartersintheStrata，andthehouseholdaffairswereoncemorerunninglikeclockwork。LaterintheseasonWilliamwouldgoawayforamonth’sfishingtrip，andthehousewouldbeclosed。

Mr。andMrs。BertramHenshawwerenotexpectedtoreturnuntilthefirstofOctober；butwithElizatolookafterthecomfortofWilliam，themistressofthehousedidnoworrying。EversincePete’sgoing，Elizahadsaidthatshepreferredtobetheonlymaid，withacharwomantocomeinfortheheavierwork；andtothisarrangementhermistresshadwillinglyconsented，forthepresent。

Marieandthebabiesweredoingfinely，andAuntHannah’shealth，andaffairsattheAnnex，wereallthatcouldbedesired。AsBilly，indeed，sawit，therewasonlyoneflawtomarherperfectcontentonthisholidaytripwithBertram，andthatwasherdisappointmentovertheveryevidentdisasterthathadcometohercherishedmatrimonialplansforArkwrightandAliceGreggory。ShecouldnotforgetArkwright’sfacethatdayattheAnnex，whenshehadsofoolishlycalledhisattentiontoCalderwell’sdevotion；andshecouldnotforget，either，AliceGreggory’sveryobviousperturbationalittlelater，andhersuspiciouslyemphaticassertionthatshehadnointentionofmarryinganyone，certainlynotArkwright。AsBillythoughtofallthisnow，shecouldnotbutadmitthatitdidlookdarkforArkwright——poorArkwright，whomshe，morethananyoneelseintheworld，perhaps，hadaspecialreasonforwishingtoseehappilymarried。

Therewas，then，thisonecloudonBilly’shorizonasthebigboatthatwastobearheracrossthewatersteameddowntheharborthatbeautifulJulyday。

Asitchanced，naturally，perhaps，notonlywasBillythinkingofArkwrightthatmorning，butArkwrightwasthinkingofBilly。

ArkwrighthadthoughtfrequentlyofBillyduringthelastfewdays，particularlysincethatafternoonmeetingattheAnnexwhenthefourhadrenewedtheiroldgoodtimestogether。UptothatdayArkwrighthadbeentryingnottothinkofBilly。Hehadbeenfightinghistigerskin。’Sternlyhehadbeenforcinghimselftomeether，toseeher，totalkwithher，tosingwithher，ortopassherby——allwiththeindifferenceproperlyexpectedtobeshowninassociationwithMrs。BertramHenshaw，anotherman’swife。Hehadknown，ofcourse，thatdeepdowninhishearthelovedher，alwayshadlovedher，andalwayswouldloveher。Hopelesslyanddrearilyheacceptedthisasafactevenwhilewithallhismightfightingthattigerskin。Sosurewashe，indeed，ofthis，soimplicitlyhadheaccepteditasanunalterablecertainty，thatintimeevenhiseffortstofightitbecamealmostmechanicalandunconsciousintheirsternroundofforcedindifference。

ThencamethatdayattheAnnex——andthediscovery：thediscoverywhichhehadmadewhenBillycalledhisattentiontoCalderwellandAliceGreggoryacrosstheroominthecorner；

thediscoverywhichhadcomewithsoblindingaforce，andwhichevennowhe

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