Women -- Suffrage -- Great Britain -- Fiction; World War, 1914-1918 -- Great Britain -- Fiction
Though Frances loved Veronica she was afraid of her coming back. For she
was more than ever convinced that something would happen and that Nicky
would not marry Desmond.
* * * * *
The other letter was even more difficult to translate or to understand
when translated.
The authorities at Aschaffenburg requested Herr Harrison to remove his
son Michael from the School of Forestry. Michael after his first few
weeks had done no good at the school. In view of the expense to Herr
Harrison involved in his fees and maintenance, they could not honestly
advise his entering upon another term. It would only be a deplorable
throwing away of money on a useless scheme. His son Michael had no
thoroughness, no practical ability, and no grasp whatever of theoretic
detail. From Herr Harrison's point of view this was the more regrettable
inasmuch as the young man had colossal decision and persistence and
energy of his own. He was an indefatigable dreamer. Very likely--when
his dreams had crystallized--a poet. But the idea Herr Harrison had had
that his son Michael would make a man of business, or an expert in
Forestry, was altogether fantastic and absurd. And from the desperate
involutions of the final sentence Dorothy disentangled the clear fact
that Michael's personal charm, combined with his hostility to
discipline, his complete indifference to the aims of the authorities,
and his utter lack of any sense of responsibility, made him a dangerous
influence in any school.
That was the end of Anthony's plans for Michael.
The next morning Nicky wired from some village in Sussex: "Married
yesterday.--NICKY."
After that nothing seemed to matter. With Nicky gone from them they were
glad to have Michael back again. Frances said they might be thankful for
one thing--that there wasn't any German Peggy or any German Desmond in
Michael's problem.
And since both Michael and Veronica were to be removed at once, the
simplest arrangement was that he should return to Dresden and bring her
back with him.
Frances had never been afraid for Michael.
Michael knew that he had made havoc of his father's plans. He couldn't
help that. His affair was far too desperate. And any other man but his
father would have foreseen that the havoc was inevitable and would have
made no plans. He knew he had been turned into the tree-travelling
scheme that had been meant for Nicky, because, though Nicky had slipped
out of it, his father simply couldn't bear to give up his idea. And no
wonder, when the dear old thing had so few of them.
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