Changing Winds: A NovelErvine, St. John G. (St. John Greer)
General
Changing Winds: A Novel
Ervine, St. John G. (St. John Greer)
Fiction
"Yes ... to Ninian Graham's sister. I've often talked of you to her. You
must come and stay with us when we get back to Ballymartin."
"Yes. Yes, I should like to! I hope you'll be happy, Henry!" He spoke in
a nervous, agitated way that was not habitual with him, and Henry,
looking more closely at him, saw that he was tired and ill-looking.
"Aren't you well, John?" he asked.
"Oh, yes. Yes, I'm quite well. I'm rather tired, that's all. I've been
working very hard!"
"Still drilling?"
"Yes ... still drilling!"
"What are you doing at Easter, John?" Henry asked.
Marsh looked at him quickly, almost in a startled fashion. "At Easter!"
he repeated. "Oh ... nothing! Why?"
"You and I might go for a long walk through the mountains," Henry
answered. "We could walk to Glendalough and back again. It would just
fill up the Easter holidays. Let's start to-morrow morning. I'm staying
at the Club. You can meet me there!"
"No, I'm sorry, Henry, I can't go with you!..."
"Why not? You said you'd nothing particular to do!"
"I'm going to Mass in the morning...."
"Well, that doesn't matter. We can start after you've been. Come along,
John. You look washed-out, and the tramp'll do you good!..."
Marsh shook his head. "I can't go, Henry," he said. "It isn't only
to-morrow morning that I want to go to Mass ... I want to go the day
after ... and I want to go with all ... all my people on Easter Sunday!"
"You've grown very religious, John. Do you go to Mass every morning?"
"I've been every morning now for a month. You see, one doesn't know ...
well, perhaps I am growing more religious. I won't keep you now. Perhaps
I shall see you again!..."
"Why, of course, you'll see me again. Heaven and earth, man, anybody'd
think you were going to die, the way you talk!"
Marsh did not speak. He smiled when Henry spoke of dying, and then
looked away. They were still standing on the bridge, and he leant on the
parapet and looked down on the lake.
"Queer things, fish!" he said.
"Not nearly so queer as you are," Henry answered. "Why won't you come
with me? You won't want to be cooped up in Dublin all Easter, do you?"
"Cooped up!"
"Yes. Two or three days of mountain air 'ud do you a world of good.
You'd better come with me!"
"No, I can't," he answered so abruptly that Henry did not press the
matter again. "When are you going to be married, Henry?" he asked,
speaking in his old, kindly tone again.
"At the beginning of May ... less than a fortnight now!"
Marsh turned away from the water, and stood with his back to the
parapet. "Why don't you spend Easter with your fiancee?" he said.
"That isn't quite possible, John. I should only be in the way, if I were
there now!"
"Or at Ballymartin. It would be rather nice to spend Easter at
Ballymartin!"
"Well, I will, if you'll come with me...."
"I can't do that. I don't think I should stay in Dublin at Easter if I
were you...."
"Why?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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