FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82  
83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   >>   >|  
in bed, ill.' 'Ill?' asked Clarice quickly. 'You don't mean that.' 'Yes. I'm so concerned. He wrote to tell me all about it.' Fielding looked displeased, and much the same expression was to be seen on the face of Clarice. Mrs. Willoughby was serenely unconscious of the effect of her words. 'I heard that he was in bed,' interposed Conway carelessly. 'But apparently he has got something to console himself with.' 'Yes. He wrote to me about that too,' said Mrs. Willoughby. 'Fancy, Clarice! He has inherited quite a good income. An uncle or somebody left it to him.' Clarice expressed an acid satisfaction at the news. She dropped behind with Fielding. 'You didn't know that Mr. Mallinson was ill?' she asked. 'Did none of his friends know except Connie?' and then there was a perceptible accent of pique in her voice. Fielding did not answer the question immediately. He had been brought of a sudden to the vexatious conclusion that Mrs. Willoughby was a coquette just like the rest of her trivial sex--no better, indeed, than the girl at his side, whose first anxiety was not as to whether Mallinson was seriously ill, but why he wrote the information to Mrs. Willoughby. He felt that Mrs. Willoughby had no right to trifle with Mallinson. The poor fellow had already suffered his full share of that kind of experience. Miss Le Mesurier repeated her question impatiently, and Fielding suddenly realised that Miss Le Mesurier's pique might prove useful in setting matters right. He determined to encourage it. 'None that I'm aware of,' he replied. 'Mrs. Willoughby, of course, would be likely to know first.' 'Why?' 'Haven't you noticed? They have struck up a great friendship lately--always pair off together, you know.' Miss Le Mesurier's lips curled at the despicable phrase, but she blamed Mrs. Willoughby for the fact which it described, not Sidney Mallinson. His attitude she could understand, and make allowance for; it had been a despairing act prompted by an instinct of self-preservation to rid himself of the hopeless thought of her. An unsuccessful act too, for the poor fellow had broken down. She had no doubts as to the origin of his illness, and overflowed promptly with sympathy. Her resentment against Mrs. Willoughby none the less remained. Driving homewards she asked her, 'Why didn't you tell me before that Mr. Mallinson was ill?' 'My dear, I never gave a thought to it until I saw Mr. Fielding. The illn
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82  
83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Willoughby
 

Fielding

 

Mallinson

 
Clarice
 
Mesurier
 
thought
 

question

 

fellow

 

realised

 

suddenly


repeated
 
impatiently
 

friendship

 

determined

 

matters

 

encourage

 

struck

 

replied

 

setting

 

noticed


sympathy
 

resentment

 

promptly

 
overflowed
 

doubts

 
origin
 
illness
 

remained

 

Driving

 

homewards


broken

 

unsuccessful

 
Sidney
 
blamed
 

curled

 
despicable
 

phrase

 

attitude

 

preservation

 

hopeless


instinct

 

understand

 
allowance
 

despairing

 
prompted
 
console
 

inherited

 

carelessly

 
apparently
 

expressed