There in the white light in spite of the shadows of her lashes which
turned violet eyes to great pools of satin shadow, he caught the flare
of mischief behind half-closed lids, before she tilted her head back
and laughed softly, with utter joyous abandon straight up into his
face.
"He--he didn't deliver it," she stated naively. "It wasn't his fault
entirely, though, Denny--although I did give him lots of chances, at
first anyway. I almost made him tell--but he--he's stubborn."
She stopped and laughed again--giggled shamelessly as she remembered.
But her eyes grew grave once more.
"I think he didn't quite approve of my attitude," she explained to him
as he bent over her. "He thought I wasn't--sorry enough--to deserve it
at first. And then--and then I never gave him any opportunity to
speak. I would have stopped him if he had tried. You--you see, I just
wanted to--wait."
Head bowed she paused a moment before she continued.
"But--but I sent him to you--two days ago, Denny. I sent something
that I asked him to give you--when--when it was over. Didn't you--get
it?"
He fumbled in the pocket of his smooth black suit after she had
disengaged herself and dropped to the ground at his feet. With her
ankles curled up under her she sat in a boyish heap watching him,
until he drew out the bit of a spangled crimson bow and held it out
before him in the palm of one big hand. Then he swung down to the
ground beside her.
"I thought it must have been Old Jerry who brought it. I didn't see
him, and no one could remember his name or knew where he had gone when
they thought to look for him. They--they just described him to me."
He turned the bow of silk over, touching it almost reverently.
"Some one gave it to me," he continued slowly. "I don't know exactly
how or when. It--it was just put into my hand--when I needed it most.
I wasn't sure Old Jerry had brought it, but I knew it came from you,
knew it when I didn't--know--much--else!"
She was very, very quiet, content merely in his nearness. Even then
she didn't understand it--the reason for his going that night, weeks
before--for the papers which had told her a little had told her
nothing of his brain's own reason. The question was on her lips when
her narrow fingers, searching the shadow for his, found that bandaged
wrist and knuckles. Almost fiercely she drew that hand up into the
light. From the white cloth her gaze went to the discolored, bruised
patches on face and chin--the same place where that long, ugly cut had
been which dripped blood on the floor the night she had run from him
in the dark--went to his face, and back again, limpid with pity. And
she lifted it impulsively and tucked it under her chin, and held it
there with small hands that trembled a little.
"Then--then if you haven't seen Old Jerry--why--why you--he couldn't
have told you anything at all yet, about me."
The words trailed off softly and left the statement hanging
interrogatively in midair.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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