The Irrational Knot: Being the Second Novel of His NonageShaw, Bernard
General
The Irrational Knot: Being the Second Novel of His Nonage
Shaw, Bernard
Marriage -- Fiction; Social classes -- Fiction
“She wants to see you,” whispered Eliza.
“Go downrs, Eliza, this minute. I wont see her.”
“Mrs. Myers,” cried the voice. Marian again shrank from the sound.
“Mrs. My-ers. Aunt Sally. Come to your poor Soozy.” Mrs. Myers looked
perplexedly at Marian. The voice resumed after a pause, with an
affected Yankee accent, “I guess I’ll raise a shine if you dont come.”
“I must go,” said Mrs. Myers. “I promise you, Mrs. Forster, she shall
not annoy you. She shall go this week. It aint right that you should be
disturbed by her.”
Mrs. Myers went into the other room. Eliza ran downrs, and Marian heard
her open the house door softly and go out. She also heard indistinctly
the voices of the landlady and her lodger. After a time these ceased,
and she drank her tea in peace. She was glad that Mrs. Myers did not
return, although she made no more comfortable use of her solitude than
to think of her lost home in Holland Park, comparing it with her dingy
apartment, and pressing her handkerchief upon her eyes when they became
too full of tears. She had passed more than an hour thus when Eliza
roused her by announcing the arrival of the luggage. Thereupon she
bestirred herself to superintend its removal to her bedroom, where she
unpacked a trunk which contained her writing-case and some books. With
these were stowed her dresses, much miscellaneous finery, and some
handsomely worked underclothing. Eliza, standing by, could not contain
her admiration; and Marian, though she did not permit her to handle the
clothes, had not the heart to send her away until she had seen all that
the trunk contained. Marian heard her voice afterward in the apartment
of the drunken lodger, and suspected from its emphasis that the girl
was describing the rare things she had seen.
Marian imparted some interest to her surroundings that evening by
describing them in a letter to Elinor. When she had finished, she was
weary; and the fire was nearly out. She looked at her watch, and,
finding to her surprise that is was two hours after midnight, rose to
go to bed. Before leaving the room, she stood for a minute before the
old-fashioned pier-glass, with one foot on the fender, and looked at
her image, pitying her own weariness, and enjoying the soft beauty of
her face and the gentleness of her expression. Her appearance did not
always please her; but on this occasion the mirror added so much to the
solace she had found in writing to Elinor, that she felt almost happy
as she took the lamp to light her to her bedroom.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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