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226 Leda and the Swan
Marie Farrant smiled again at her husband.
dear. At peace, in the sense that I should
"Leo, why did you give me a know you could afford to hide your hurt
power of attorney four years ago?"
"Because I couldn't stand the look of
my left-handed scrawl."
wherever you liked."
"I give you my word of honor that, if
you do leave me, I shall be able to do
"Not a bit of it. You gave it to me that."
because you knew that I should manage He smiled at her, visibly relieved.
better than you could. Well, I've done Then he saw what sense might be read
it: I've managed marvellously. We can into her words. "I don't mean that,
afford quarts of this medicine if it's necessary.
Marie. Why, even I don't want to die."
Of course, it's obvious that, if we She stirred a little. "That is mag­
were rich, we shouldn't be living as we are. nificent of you. Or do you mean only
But we shall do very well, if you won't that you don't want to leave me by myself?"
worry. We don't owe any one a penny.
Does that satisfy you?"
"That, above all. But I mean it
"Not quite." He shifted himself on otherwise, too. I don't want to turn my
his pillows, with a sudden involuntary back on beauty."
muscular contraction. Pain, of course— They had never shirked analysis. " Ah,
she knew it. Mrs. Farrant laid the prescription
my dear, for all the beauty you see nowa­
on a table, and sat down in a days !" She looked round the sick-room.
chair beside the bed. "You don't need "I don't mean that. My eyes have
that until night, anyhow. I won't go out seen enough in their time—too much, I
now. We'll lay this little fretful ghost." sometimes think; for I can remember the
The stab of pain had gone as suddenly
as it came, leaving an exquisite sensation
individual sneer of every damned Gothic
gargoyle I ever saw—and the hand is
of relief. Mrs. Farrant knew, from the gone." He glanced involuntarily at the
slight motion of his features, as well as if limp sleeve of his pajama jacket.
she were bearing it herself. She took his "You wouldn't have touched a Gothic
hand in hers. " What is it, dear ? " gargoyle, even to caricature it, and you
He was weaker and whiter, for an instant,
well know it," she broke in.
than he had been before; but his "Humph—yes. Forgive my splenetic
voice was fairly strong.
illustration. I only intended to say that
" It's only that I let everything go after
this happened. As we both know, I wasn't
I could lie here and remember, with my
eyes shut, enough beauty to keep me
fit for anything. I didn't attempt to going until I was ninety. What I meant
straighten things out, really. I haven't by beauty is something quite different."
an idea how my debts and assets finally "Love?"
came out. Then you took everything "Love? Oh, love, my dear. How
over, and we've gone along swimmingly. many people have really known it since
Only—I've been afraid, for months, that the world began ? Love's a special case.
we were living on your money. I haven't No, I mean the sheer beauty of consciousness—the
miracle of human intelligence,
liked to speak of it; but it's so evident I
shan't last much longer that I'd like to pure and simple. That is the loveliest
talk it over once with you."
phenomenon of the cosmos. What luck
"Well: even if we had been living on to have had it for a little while ! To feel
what you call my money, what difference oneself think—even pain can't utterly destroy
would that make?"
the good of that. I'd rather think
"The difference, dear, that I shouldn't as a lunatic than not think at all. One
have the luxury of feeling at peace about
your future."
hates to turn one's back on it—to put
down the cup for good and all."
" Do you mean that, if you knew I had "You know I don't agree with you
a sufficient income, you would feel at about that, Leo."
peace about my future? "
"No—I know. You keep a religion
He could not, with those eyes looking going somewhere. I suppose the reason
firmly into his, descend to brutal conventionalities.
"You know what I mean, tween us is that, if you're right, why,
why it has never made any difference be­
I'm