"And you have got what you wanted? Is that it?"
The daughter of the egregious financier de Barral did not answer at once
this question going to the heart of things. Then raising her head and
gazing wistfully across the street noisy with the endless transit of
innumerable bargains, she said with intense gravity: "He has been most generous."
I was pleased to hear these words. Not that I doubted the infatuation of
Roderick Anthony, but I was pleased to hear something which proved that
she was sensible and open to the sentiment of gratitude which in this
case was significant. In the face of man's desire a girl is excusable if
she thinks herself priceless. I mean a girl of our civilization which
has established a dithyrambic phraseology for the expression of love. A
man in love will accept any convention exalting the object of his passion
and in this indirect way his passion itself. In what way the captain of
the ship Ferndale gave proofs of lover-like lavishness I could not
guess very well. But I was glad she was appreciative. It is lucky that
small things please women. And it is not silly of them to be thus
pleased. It is in small things that the deepest loyalty, that which they
need most, the loyalty of the passing moment, is best expressed.
She had remained thoughtful, letting her deep motionless eyes rest on the
streaming jumble of traffic. Suddenly she said:
"And I wanted to ask you . . . I was really glad when I saw you actually
here. Who would have expected you here, at this spot, before this hotel!
I certainly never . . . You see it meant a lot to me. You are the only
person who knows . . . who knows for certain . . . "
"Knows what?" I said, not discovering at first what she had in her mind.
Then I saw it. "Why can't you leave that alone?" I remonstrated, rather
annoyed at the invidious position she was forcing on me in a sense. "It's
true that I was the only person to see," I added. "But, as it happens,
after your mysterious disappearance I told the Fynes the story of our
meeting."
Her eyes raised to mine had an expression of dreamy, unfathomable
candour, if I dare say so. And if you wonder what I mean I can only say
that I have seen the sea wear such an expression on one or two occasions
shortly before sunrise on a calm, fresh day. She said as if meditating
aloud that she supposed the Fynes were not likely to talk about that. She
couldn't imagine any connection in which . . . Why should they?