Spring Street: A Story of Los AngelesRichardson, James Hugh
General
Spring Street: A Story of Los Angeles
Richardson, James Hugh
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Fiction
"Perhaps I should not tell you, but--she has talked to him. That's as
much as I will tell you. The rest must come from her," Betty replied.
She had talked with Gibson and yet she wanted to see him! Or, could
Betty be mistaken? Had she interpreted Consuello's mood erroneously in
coming for him?
"Forgive me for my doubtfulness," he said, "but are you certain that she
wants to see me?"
A shade of exasperation crossed Betty's face.
"You said a moment ago that you knew Consuello trusted me," she said.
"If she trusts me, then why can't you?"
Reassured by this pertinent counter question he deduced that Betty, with
the welfare of Consuello at heart, had concluded that he might be able
to furnish the solace her companion needed in her hour of trial. The
ecstasy that had thrilled him when he first realized that he loved
Consuello returned to him as the cab sped through the streets. She knew
now why he had beseeched her to think of him as doing what he thought
was right. And she had kept her promise! A glance through the window of
the cab at a lighted corner told him that they were nearing their
destination.
"I'm going to leave you alone with her," Betty said, with the frankness
that she had displayed when they first met. "I need not ask you to be
very considerate, to do everything you can to comfort her. In my heart I
feel that what has happened is all for the best. How dreadful it would
have been if she had been compelled to make this discovery for herself
after they were married.
"I told her that I would be away until late; that I was busy. We'll
stop at the corner to let you out, because she knows that I took a cab
when I left and she might suspect that I went for you. Here we are."
She called to the driver to stop.
"It was kind of you----" he began as he stood at the cab door after
alighting. She stopped him with a gesture of her hand. Then, leaning
forward a little, her eyes dancing with a smile, she said:
"Don't you know that I know you love her?"
The door closed quickly and the cab spurted away from the curb, leaving
him standing bewildered and yet overjoyed by the audacious words she had
spoken. So that was why she had called him to Consuello! If Betty knew
it, then Consuello, too, must realize that he loved her. The thought
frightened him. It had never occurred to him before that she might know.
Somehow, he had not dared to imagine that she cared enough even to guess
that he loved her.
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