Alathea's face was a study! I watched her lazily. How had I ever thought
her plain? Even in those first days, disguised with the horn spectacles,
and the tornback hair, the contour of her little face is so perfectly
oval, and her neck so round and long, but not too long. There is not the
least look of scragginess about her, just extreme slenderness, a
small-boned creature of perhaps five foot four or five, with childish
outline. To-day in the becoming little grey frock, and even with the
glasses on she is lovely, perhaps she seems so to me because I now know
that the glasses are not necessary. The expression of her mouth said,
"Am I being tricked? Does the man mean to seize me when he gets me
alone? Shall I run away and have done with it?"
She was restless, her old serenity seems to have deserted her.
"I wanted to ask you," I began calmly, "What you would like to do
immediately after the wedding. I mean would you prefer that we went to
Versailles? The passport business makes everything so difficult, or
would you rather go down to the Riviera? Or just stay at the flat?"
"I don't care in the least," she replied ungraciously.
"Then if you don't care, we will stay at the flat, because if I do not
interrupt my treatment I shall be the sooner well to go to England. Have
you engaged a maid?"
"Yes."
"You will give orders that your trunks are sent in in the morning, then,
and that she has everything ready for you."
"Very well."
All this time her face was turned away from me as much as possible. For
one second a fear came to me that after all perhaps it is real hate she
has for me, which will be unsurmountable, and I was impelled to ask her: "Alathea, do you detest the idea of marrying me so much that you would
rather break the whole thing?"
She turned and faced me now, and I feel sure blue fire was coming from
those beautiful eyes, could I have seen them!
"It is not a question of what I would wish or not, nor of my feelings in
any way. I am going through with the ceremony, and shall be your
permanent secretary, because I am under great monetary obligations to
you, and wish for security for my family in the future. You put it to me
that you wanted to buy me, and I could name the price--you have overpaid
it. I shall not go back upon my promise, only I want to feel perfectly
sure that you will expect nothing more of me than what we have
arranged."