"
He then turned round abruptly, without looking at them, and walked back
to the villa. He felt both exalted and ashamed of himself for having
thus said what he felt. Probably they were laughing at him, probably
they thought him a fool, and, after all, had he really said what he
felt?
It was true that they laughed when he was gone; but the dispute about
Helen which had become rather sharp, ceased, and they became peaceful
and friendly.
Chapter XXIV
They reached the hotel rather early in the afternoon, so that most
people were still lying down, or sitting speechless in their bedrooms,
and Mrs. Thornbury, although she had asked them to tea, was nowhere to
be seen. They sat down, therefore, in the shady hall, which was almost
empty, and full of the light swishing sounds of air going to and fro in
a large empty space. Yes, this arm-chair was the same arm-chair in which
Rachel had sat that afternoon when Evelyn came up, and this was the
magazine she had been looking at, and this the very picture, a picture
of New York by lamplight. How odd it seemed--nothing had changed.
By degrees a certain number of people began to come down the stairs and
to pass through the hall, and in this dim light their figures possessed
a sort of grace and beauty, although they were all unknown people.
Sometimes they went straight through and out into the garden by the
swing door, sometimes they stopped for a few minutes and bent over the
tables and began turning over the newspapers.
Pages:
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457