She is exceedingly delicate, and no
wonder, sitting up all night sketching and sitting in all day
painting! I wish you could have chosen some strong, sensible,
matter-of-fact young woman!"
I smiled as I listened. The combination of those three adjectives
fairly set my teeth on edge, and suddenly I seemed to see Lucia's
pale brilliant face, with its dilated eyes and genius-lit pupils,
swimming in the shaft of sunlight that fell between us on the rug.
"What the children of two such maniacs will be, I tremble to think
of!" he said after a minute.
I laughed outright, flung my cigar end into the fire, and stretched
myself.
"I don't think you need trouble about the children!" I said
significantly.
His remark sounded so ludicrous to me that my answer came
spontaneously, but it was the worst thing I could have said. My
father's old-fashioned ideas were the rock upon which we invariably
split. Otherwise we should have got on very well. But he was
entirely of the school of yesterday, and I was entirely of the
school of to-morrow. His forehead contracted violently, and he said
curtly--
"Now, don't let me hear any of that ridiculous nonsense you were
talking the other day! I won't have these sentiments expressed in my
hearing!"
I laughed, and said nothing. I never wish to express sentiments in
anybody's hearing that they don't want.
Pages:
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73