A true emotion had unsealed his lips but the words that came out of them
were no louder than the murmur of a light wind. It died away.
"That's just it," said Flora de Barral under her breath. Without
removing his eyes from her he took off his hat. It was a tall hat. The
hat of the trial. The hat of the thumb-nail sketches in the illustrated
papers. One comes out in the same clothes, but seclusion counts! It is
well known that lurid visions haunt secluded men, monks, hermits--then
why not prisoners? De Barral the convict took off the silk hat of the
financier de Barral and deposited it on the front seat of the cab. Then
he blew out his cheeks. He was red in the face.
"And then what happens?" he began again in his contained voice. "Here I
am, overthrown, broken by envy, malice and all uncharitableness. I come
out--and what do I find? I find that my girl Flora has gone and married
some man or other, perhaps a fool, how do I know; or perhaps--anyway not
good enough."
"Stop, papa."
"A silly love affair as likely as not," he continued monotonously, his
thin lips writhing between the ill-omened sunk corners. "And a very
suspicious thing it is too, on the part of a loving daughter."
She tried to interrupt him but he went on till she actually clapped her
hand on his mouth. He rolled his eyes a bit but when she took her hand
away he remained silent.
"Wait. I must tell you . . . And first of all, papa, understand this,
for everything's in that: he is the most generous man in the world. He
is . . . "
De Barral very still in his corner uttered with an effort "You are in
love with him."
"Papa! He came to me. I was thinking of you. I had no eyes for
anybody. I could no longer bear to think of you. It was then that he
came. Only then. At that time when--when I was going to give up."
She gazed into his faded blue eyes as if yearning to be understood, to be
given encouragement, peace--a word of sympathy. He declared without
animation "I would like to break his neck."
She had the mental exclamation of the overburdened.
"Oh my God!" and watched him with frightened eyes. But he did not appear
insane or in any other way formidable. This comforted her. The silence
lasted for some little time. Then suddenly he asked: "What's your name then?"