FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164  
165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   >>   >|  
ay, Dick," she said, "if you can stay and behave nicely. I thought it was horribly selfish of you to go off as you did last winter. I think so still. If you had got killed, I should have been very--very--" "What?" demanded Derrick impatiently. "Sorry? Angry--what?" "Angry," said Averil, with great decision. "I should never have forgiven you. I am not sure that I shall, as it is." Derrick uttered a sudden passionate laugh. Then abruptly his mood changed. He held out his hands to her. "Averil!" he said. "Averil! Can't you see how I want you--how I love you? Why do you treat me like this? I've thought about you, dreamt about you, day after day, night after night, ever since I went away. You thought it beastly selfish of me to go. But it hasn't been such fun, after all. All the weeks I was in hospital I felt sick for the sight of you. It was worse than starvation. Can't you see what it is to me? Can't you see that I--I worship you?" "My dear Dick!" Averil put her hands into his, but her gesture was one of restraint. "You mustn't talk so wildly," she said. "And, dear boy, do try not to be quite so impulsive--so headstrong. You know, you--you--" She broke off. Derrick, with a set jaw and burning eyes, was drawing her to him, strongly, irresistibly. "Derrick!" she said, with a flash of anger. "I can't help it!" Derrick said passionately. "I've been counting on this, living for this. Averil I--I--you can call me mad if you like, but if you send me away again--I believe I shall shoot myself." "What nonsense!" exclaimed Averil, half-angry, half-scornful. He dropped her hands and stood quite still for the space of a few seconds, his face white and twitching. And then, to her utter amazement, he sank heavily into a chair and covered his face with his hands. "Dick!" she ejaculated. Silence followed the word, a breathless silence. Derrick sat perfectly motionless, his fingers gripping his hair. At last Averil moved up to him, a little frightened by his stillness, and very intensely compassionate. She bent and touched his shoulder. "Dick!" she said. "Dick! Don't!" He stirred under her hand, but did not raise his head. "Get away, Averil!" he muttered. "You don't understand." And quite suddenly Averil was transported back to the far, receding schooldays, when Derrick had got into trouble for smoking his first cigar. The memory unconsciously influenced her speech. "But, Dick," she said persuasively, "do
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164  
165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Averil
 

Derrick

 

thought

 

selfish

 

breathless

 
silence
 
heavily
 

living

 
ejaculated
 

Silence


covered

 

seconds

 
dropped
 

perfectly

 
scornful
 

twitching

 
nonsense
 
exclaimed
 

amazement

 

transported


receding

 

suddenly

 

understand

 

muttered

 

schooldays

 

memory

 

unconsciously

 

influenced

 

speech

 

trouble


smoking

 
frightened
 

fingers

 

gripping

 

stillness

 
intensely
 

stirred

 
shoulder
 

persuasively

 
compassionate

touched
 

motionless

 
starvation
 
changed
 

abruptly

 

passionate

 
beastly
 

dreamt

 
sudden
 

uttered