Chicago (Ill.) -- Fiction; Didactic fiction; Mistresses -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Young women -- Fiction
“If I see them, I do. Where was I?”
“On Washington Boulevard.” he answered, expecting her eye to light with
immediate remembrance.
She shook her head.
“Yes, out near Hoyne Avenue. You were with your husband.”
“I guess you’re mistaken,” she answered. Then, remembering her
husband’s part in the affair, she immediately fell a prey to a host of
young suspicions, of which, however, she gave no sign.
“I know I saw your husband,” he went on. “I wasn’t so sure about you.
Perhaps it was your daughter.”
“Perhaps it was,” said Mrs. Hurstwood, knowing full well that such was
not the case, as Jessica had been her companion for weeks. She had
recovered herself sufficiently to wish to know more of the details.
“Was it in the afternoon?” she asked, artfully, assuming an air of
acquaintanceship with the matter.
“Yes, about two or three.”
“It must have been Jessica,” said Mrs. Hurstwood, not wishing to seem
to attach any importance to the incident.
The physician had a thought or two of his own, but dismissed the matter
as worthy of no further discussion on his part at least.
Mrs. Hurstwood gave this bit of information considerable thought during
the next few hours, and even days. She took it for granted that the
doctor had really seen her husband, and that he had been riding, most
likely, with some other woman, after announcing himself as _busy_ to
her. As a consequence, she recalled, with rising feeling, how often he
had refused to go to places with her, to share in little visits, or,
indeed, take part in any of the social amenities which furnished the
diversion of her existence. He had been seen at the theatre with people
whom he called Moy’s friends; now he was seen driving, and, most
likely, would have an excuse for that. Perhaps there were others of
whom she did not hear, or why should he be so busy, so indifferent, of
late? In the last six weeks he had become strangely irritable—strangely
satisfied to pick up and go out, whether things were right or wrong in
the house. Why?
She recalled, with more subtle emotions, that he did not look at her
now with any of the old light of satisfaction or approval in his eye.
Evidently, along with other things, he was taking her to be getting old
and uninteresting. He saw her wrinkles, perhaps. She was fading, while
he was still preening himself in his elegance and youth. He was still
an interested factor in the merry-makings of the world, while she—but
she did not pursue the thought. She only found the whole situation
bitter, and hated him for it thoroughly.
Nothing came of this incident at the time, for the truth is it did not
seem conclusive enough to warrant any discussion. Only the atmosphere
of distrust and ill-feeling was strengthened, precipitating every now
and then little sprinklings of irritable conversation, enlivened by
flashes of wrath. The matter of the Waukesha outing was merely a
continuation of other things of the same nature.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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