I enjoyed the company of both husband and wife exceedingly, and as we
sat round the table and chatted over our supper all feeling of
constraint passed away, and I no longer heard the words of that question
which had so troubled me all day long. He did not mention the object for
which I had come whilst the meal was going on. We talked of Runswick Bay
and its surroundings, of the fishermen and their life of danger; we
spoke of the children, and of my picture, of my hopes with regard to the
Royal Academy, and of many other interesting topics.
Then the cloth was removed, and we drew near the fire. I had just said
to him, 'Now for your story,' and he was just beginning to tell it,
when, as I sat down in an arm-chair which Nellie had placed for me by
the fire, my eye fell upon a photograph which was hanging in a frame
close to the fireplace. I started from my seat and looked at it. Surely
I could not be mistaken! Surely I knew every feature of it, every fold
of the dress, every tiny detail in the face and figure. It was the
counterpart of a picture which hung opposite my bed in my London home.
Pages:
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81