Anarchists -- Fiction; Jewel thieves -- Fiction; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Precious stones -- Fiction; Suspense fiction
“No; I was thinking of Stefani. Rather hard--to die all alone--because
he loved me.”
Kitty longed to be alone. There were still many unshed tears--some for
Cutty, some for Stefani Gregor, some for Johnny Two-Hawks, and some for
herself.
In the limousine Cutty sat in the middle, Kitty on his left and Hawksley
on his right, his arms round them both. Presently Hawksley's head
touched his shoulder and rested there; a little later Kitty did
likewise. His children! Lord, he was going to have a tremendous interest
in life, after all! He smiled with kindly irony at the back of the
chauffeur. His children, these two; and he knew as he planned their
future that they were thinking over and round but not of him, which is
the way of youth.
At the apartment Cutty decided to let Hawksley sit in an easy chair in
the living room until Captain Harrison arrived. Kuroki was ordered
to prepare a supper, which would be served on the tea cart, set at
Hawksley's knees. Kitty--because it was impossible for her to remain
inactive--set the linen and silver. She was in and out of the room, ill
at ease, angry, frightened, bitter, avoiding Hawksley's imploring eyes
because she was not sure of her own.
She was sure of one thing, however. All the nonsense was out of her
head. To-morrow she would be returning to the regular job. She would
have a page from the Arabian Nights to look upon in the days to come.
She understood, though it twisted her heart dreadfully: she was in the
eyes of this man a plaything, a pretty woman he had met in passing. If
she had saved his life he had in turn saved hers; they were quits. She
did not blame him for his point of view. He had come from the top of the
world, where women were either ornaments or playthings, while she and
hers had always struggled to maintain equilibrium in the middle stratum.
Cutty could give him friendship; but she could not because she was a
woman, young and pretty.
Love him? Well, she would get over it. It might be only the glamour of
the adventure they had shared. Anyhow, she wouldn't die of it. Cutty
hadn't. Of course it hurt; she was a silly little fool, and all that.
Once he was in Montana he would be sending for his Olga. There wasn't
the least doubt in her mind that if ever autocracy returned to power,
he'd be casting aside his American citizenship, his chaps and sombrero,
for the old regalia. Well--truculently to the world at large--why not?
So she avoided Hawksley's gaze, sensing the sustained persistence of it.
But, oh, to be alone, alone, alone!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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