Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 20th century -- Fiction; Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Politicians -- Fiction
Andy pressed her hand. "I like to have your good wishes more than
anybody's in the world," he said, "unless, perhaps, it were his, Doris.
Don't say I told you, but he grudges me the seat. He'd grudge me the
other thing worse, much worse."
"Oh, but that's quite morbid. It's all his own fault."
"Yes, I suppose so. But he's never been to you what he has to me." He
smiled. "We at Meriton still have to please Harry, and to have him
pleased with us. The old habit's very strong."
"Heavens, Andy, you wouldn't think of sacrificing yourself--and perhaps
her--to an idea like that?"
"No, that would be foolish, and wrong--as you say, morbid. But it can't
be--whatever she says to me--it can't be as if he had never existed--as
if it all hadn't happened."
"Some people feel things too little, some feel them too much," the Nun
observed. "Both bad habits!"
"I daresay the thing's a bit more than usual on my mind
to-night--because of to-morrow, you know." He was silent for a moment;
then he broke into one of his simple hearty laughs. "And I am such an
awful duffer at making love!"
"You certainly have no great natural talent for it and, as you've told
me, very little practice. Oh, I wonder how big your majority will be,
Andy!"
Andy readily turned back to the election. Yet even here the attitude she
had reproved in him seemed to persist. "I expect, as I said, about six
hundred. Harry would have got a thousand easily."
Andy escorted Vivien back to Nutley. He had it in mind to speak his
heart--at least to sound her feeling for him; but she forestalled his
opening.
"Mr. Belfield's been talking to me about Harry to-night, for the first
time. He wrote me a letter once, but he has never spoken of him before.
He was rather pathetic. Oh, Andy, why can't people think what they are
doing to other people? And poor Isobel--I'm afraid she won't be happy. I
used to feel very hard about her. I can't any more, now that the little
child has come. That seems to make it all right somehow, whatever has
happened before. At any rate she's got the best right now, hasn't she?"
She was silent a moment. "It was like this that I came home with him
that last evening. He was so gay and so kind. Then--in a flash--it
happened!"
"I've been thinking about him too to-night. It seemed natural to do
it--over this election."
They had reached Nutley, but Andy pleaded for a walk on the terrace by
the lake before she bade him good-night.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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