Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Women -- Fiction
“Thank you for telling me that,” said the girl with the classic
profile. “My great aunt gives whist parties sometimes and, as she has
a lot of lovely old lace and china and nobody in particular to leave
it to, I don’t like to hurt her feelings by refusing her invitations
outright. On the other hand, if I accept and happen to be placed at the
table with her, I know I shall not receive so much as a cracked saucer
in her will!”
“But you and Tom did go to the reception, I know, for I saw you
there,” said the girl with the Roman nose, “how did you manage it?”
“To make him go? Oh, that was easy enough. I merely said that he wasn’t
very well and as I did not like to go out and leave him alone, I would
ask mamma to come and stay with him.”
“Oh, then he agreed to go, did he?”
“Yes, dear—said he had meant to go all along. But after that everything
went wrong: his razor refused to do its work and he actually pretended
that it was all because I had sharpened a lead pencil with it the other
day, as if that could have—”
“But why did you tell him that you had sharpened your pencil with it?”
asked the blue-eyed girl.
“Because I cut my finger on the old thing and thoughtfully warned him
that it was too sharp. Then, I—well my own wardrobe was full and I had
hung up a few things in his, and the skirt of my new tailor-made gown
was hanging over his dress coat. He pretended that it was all wrinkled
and creased by that. Then, I had borrowed his box of neckties and
neglected to return them, and he made such a fuss over my forgetfulness
that I determined to give him a lesson. I saw him lay his latch key on
the chiffonier ready to put in his other pocket and I didn’t say a word
when he turned out the gas and went off without it.”
“But how did you expect to get into the house when you returned?”
“Oh! I slipped back into the room in the dark after he had gone down,
and put it in my own pocket.”
“As an object lesson in remembering. Good, I’m glad you did it,” said
the girl with the eyeglasses.
“M’hm. I told the maid not to sit up for us, and I saw for myself that
every door and window was fastened tight—for once Tom climbed in at the
pantry window when he had forgotten his key and didn’t want me to know
how late he stayed at the club.”
“I suppose he complained next day because the window was open, too,”
murmured the girl with the dimple in her chin, “men are so illogical!”
“Well, no, dear; but he would have done so, only the clock happened to
strike three as he came upstairs, and I counted the strokes aloud. Well
Tom was cross at being kept waiting, but my gown fits so well that I
felt at peace with all mankind.”
“Even your own husband!” said the brown-eyed blonde. “It must indeed
fit well.”
“Yes. And I enjoyed the evening immensely, for I knew I had such a good
joke on Tom when we got home.”
“Yes, and what happened then?” asked the girl with the eyeglasses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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