I was ready
enough. I was, of course, full of remorse. It occurred to me that
her heart was the reason for the Hurlbirds' mysterious desire to
keep their youngest and dearest unmarried. Of course, they would
be too refined to put the motive into words. They were old stock
New Englanders. They would not want to have to suggest that a
husband must not kiss the back of his wife's neck. They would not
like to suggest that he might, for the matter of that. I wonder,
though, how Florence got the doctor to enter the conspiracy--the
several doctors.
Of course her heart squeaked a bit--she had the same configuration
of the lungs as her Uncle Hurlbird. And, in his company, she must
have heard a great deal of heart talk from specialists. Anyhow, she
and they tied me pretty well down--and Jimmy, of course, that
dreary boy--what in the world did she see in him? He was
lugubrious, silent, morose. He had no talent as a painter. He was
very sallow and dark, and he never shaved sufficiently. He met us
at Havre, and he proceeded to make himself useful for the next
two years, during which he lived in our flat in Paris, whether we
were there or not. He studied painting at Julien's, or some such
place.
Pages:
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132