Fathers and daughters -- Fiction; London (England) -- Fiction; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Sisters -- Fiction
"I don't know that I'm feeling so tremendously happy my own self," she
thought. For the reaction had set in. She was glad enough to bring about
by various movements their long-delayed bedward journey. She was
beginning to feel that her head and her heart were both aching, and that
any more confidences from Emmy would be unbearable. And where Emmy had
grown communicative--since Emmy had nothing to conceal--Jenny had felt
more and more that her happiness was staled as thought corroded it. By
the time they turned out the kitchen gas the clock pointed to twenty
minutes past two, and the darkest hour was already recorded. In three
more hours the sun would rise, and Jenny knew that long before then she
would see the sky greying as though the successive veils of the
transformation were to reveal the crystal grotto. She preceded Emmy up
the stairs, carrying a candle and lighting the way. At the top of the
staircase Emmy would find her own candle, and they would part. They were
now equally eager for the separation, Emmy because she wanted to think
over and over again the details of her happiness, and to make plans for
a kind of life that was to open afresh in days that lay ahead. Arrived
at the landing the sisters did not pause or kiss, but each looked and
smiled seriously as she entered her bedroom. With the closing of the
doors noise seemed to depart from the little house, though Jenny heard
Emmy moving in her room. The house was in darkness. Emmy was gone; Pa
lay asleep in the dim light, his head bandaged and the water slowly
soaking into the towel protectively laid upon his chest; in the kitchen
the ailing clock ticked away the night. Everything seemed at peace but
Jenny, who, when she had closed the door and set her candle down, went
quickly to the bed, sitting upon its edge and looking straight before
her with dark and sober eyes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account