登陆注册
5258500000046

第46章 XV(2)

"My dear! I knew you'd look me up," Grace's joyous voice ran down the stairway; and in another moment she was clasping Susy to her tumbled person.

"Nat couldn't remember if he'd given you our address, though he promised me he would, the last time he was here." She held Susy at arms' length, beaming upon her with blinking short-sighted eyes: the same old dishevelled Grace, so careless of her neglected beauty and her squandered youth, so amused and absent- minded and improvident, that the boisterous air of the New Hampshire bungalow seemed to enter with her into the little air- tight salon.

While she poured out the tale of Nat's sudden celebrity, and its unexpected consequences, Susy marvelled and dreamed. Was the secret of his triumph perhaps due to those long hard unrewarded years, the steadfast scorn of popularity, the indifference to every kind of material ease in which his wife had so gaily abetted him? Had it been bought at the cost of her own freshness and her own talent, of the children's "advantages," of everything except the closeness of the tie between husband and wife? Well--it was worth the price, no doubt; but what if, now that honours and prosperity had come, the tie were snapped, and Grace were left alone among the ruins?

There was nothing in her tone or words to suggest such a possibility. Susy noticed that her ill-assorted raiment was costlier in quality and more professional in cut than the home- made garments which had draped her growing bulk at the bungalow: it was clear that she was trying to dress up to Nat's new situation. But, above all, she was rejoicing in it, filling her hungry lungs with the strong air of his success. It had evidently not occurred to her as yet that those who consent to share the bread of adversity may want the whole cake of prosperity for themselves.

"My dear, it's too wonderful! He's told me to take as many concert and opera tickets as I like; he lets me take all the children with me. The big concerts don't begin till later; but of course the Opera is always going. And there are little things--there's music in Paris at all seasons. And later it's just possible we may get to Munich for a week--oh, Susy!" Her hands clasped, her eyes brimming, she drank the new wine of life almost sacramentally.

"Do you remember, Susy, when you and Nick came to stay at the bungalow? Nat said you'd be horrified by our primitiveness-but I knew better! And I was right, wasn't I? Seeing us so happy made you and Nick decide to follow our example, didn't it?" She glowed with the remembrance. "And now, what are your plans? Is Nick's book nearly done? I suppose you'll have to live very economically till he finds a publisher. And the baby, darling- when is that to be? If you're coming home soon I could let you have a lot of the children's little old things."

"You're always so dear, Grace. But we haven't any special plans as yet--not even for a baby. And I wish you'd tell me all of yours instead."

Mrs. Fulmer asked nothing better: Susy perceived that, so far, the greater part of her European experience had consisted in talking about what it was to be. "Well, you see, Nat is so taken up all day with sight-seeing and galleries and meeting important people that he hasn't had time to go about with us; and as so few theatres are open, and there's so little music, I've taken the opportunity to catch up with my mending. Junie helps me with it now--she's our eldest, you remember? She's grown into a big girl since you saw her. And later, perhaps, we're to travel. And the most wonderful thing of all--next to Nat's recognition, I mean--is not having to contrive and skimp, and give up something every single minute. Just think--Nat has even made special arrangements here in the pension, so that the children all have second helpings to everything. And when I go up to bed I can think of my music, instead of lying awake calculating and wondering how I can make things come out at the end of the month. Oh, Susy, that's simply heaven!"

Susy's heart contracted. She had come to her friend to be taught again the lesson of indifference to material things, and instead she was hearing from Grace Fulmer's lips the long- repressed avowal of their tyranny. After all, that battle with poverty on the New Hampshire hillside had not been the easy smiling business that Grace and Nat had made it appear. And yet ... and yet ....

Susy stood up abruptly, and straightened the expensive hat which hung irresponsibly over Grace's left ear.

"What's wrong with it? Junie helped me choose it, and she generally knows," Mrs. Fulmer wailed with helpless hands.

"It's the way you wear it, dearest--and the bow is rather top- heavy. Let me have it a minute, please." Susy lifted the hat from her friend's head and began to manipulate its trimming.

"This is the way Maria Guy or Suzanne would do it .... And now go on about Nat ...."

She listened musingly while Grace poured forth the tale of her husband's triumph, of the notices in the papers, the demand for his work, the fine ladies' battles over their priority in discovering him, and the multiplied orders that had resulted from their rivalry.

"Of course they're simply furious with each other-Mrs. Melrose and Mrs. Gillow especially--because each one pretends to have been the first to notice his 'Spring Snow-Storm,' and in reality it wasn't either of them, but only poor Bill Haslett, an art- critic we've known for years, who chanced on the picture, and rushed off to tell a dealer who was looking for a new painter to push." Grace suddenly raised her soft myopic eyes to Susy's face. "But, do you know, the funny thing is that I believe Nat is beginning to forget this, and to believe that it was Mrs.

Melrose who stopped short in front of his picture on the opening day, and screamed out: 'This is genius!' It seems funny he should care so much, when I've always known he had genius-and he has known it too. But they're all so kind to him; and Mrs.

同类推荐
  • 嵩山太无先生气经

    嵩山太无先生气经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • The Damnation of Theron Ware

    The Damnation of Theron Ware

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 坚牢地天仪轨

    坚牢地天仪轨

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 紫阳真人悟真篇三注

    紫阳真人悟真篇三注

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Heimskringla

    Heimskringla

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 调皮的公鸡

    调皮的公鸡

    重生成为一只家养公鸡原本以为这是一个普通的世界结果修道者、妖族缤纷而至.....什么?凶残的妖族才是本土居民?修道者才是早就统治了数个星系的外来文明?这是一只公鸡从零开始,妖道同修,一步步成长为一头文明毁灭者的故事......
  • 爱你是唯一的秘密

    爱你是唯一的秘密

    总有人相濡以沫数十年,却输给天真或妖冶的一张脸①。婚后第四个年头,他甩出一纸离婚协议书,“签了它,我也不算亏欠你。”她费尽心思,用尽手段,得到的仅是他讽刺的冷嘲:“舒冉,到底是谁先背叛谁,你该再清楚不过。”她红着眼眶,笑靥如花,“靳祁森,你可千万别后悔。”在梁舒冉眼里,霍誉铭这个男人就是个笑里藏刀的老狐狸,阴险狡猾,厚颜无耻。初次见面,她芳龄二十,他是她的老师,他调侃她:“乖,宝贝,咱回家。”经年之后再相见。他救她于水深火热之中又不忘趁机揩油。狭窄车厢里,他借酒装疯调戏她,“宝贝,怎么感谢我?”
  • 风之少女琪琪格

    风之少女琪琪格

    讲述了香港一所专业马术学校的新生入校典礼上,一群经过严格筛选后获得入学资格的年轻骑士们聚集在此,正紧张地进行一场马术表演。一匹纯血马“亚瑟王”突然出现异常状况,莫名失控,四处冲撞,场内一片惊慌。这时,一个绿衣少女突然出现,她用一种奇异的方式与马儿沟通,迅速控制住了场面。校董老菲利普爵士目睹此景想起了自己年轻时奇遇“马语者”的故事,决定破格录取这个来自内蒙古的女孩齐云格(蒙古语名字乌云琪琪格)入校学习。齐云格事实上是个双耳失聪的少女,在这个精英荟萃的圈子,特殊的她免不了遭遇各种困难:别人的偏见、离奇的传说,这些影响一点点渗入她原本单纯的生活,让她压力骤增、甚至想要放弃。
  • 沙滩浴场

    沙滩浴场

    镇里要来外国人!一天早上,孤都镇里突然冒出这么个惊人的消息。接着,如同伤寒杆菌爆发了一样,这个消息以迅雷不及掩耳之势席卷了整个镇子。每个受到传染的人都莫名其妙地激动,急不可耐地发烧,迫不及待地将病菌传染给下一个人。于是,镇子里的人像刚复活的苍蝇一样,没头没脑乱嗡嗡地飞来飞去,传递着“镇里要来外国人”的消息。于是,街道上、马路边、小巷里、大树下,甚至一些厕所的门口,常会出现这样的情景:两人见面后,神秘兮兮地对视一眼,其中一个以严肃的语气说:“知道吧?镇里要来外国人。”另一个人也必定神情严肃地点点头,说:“嗯,是要来外国人。”前一个肯定地说:“真的。是要来外国人。”后一个也符合着肯定说:“真的。是要来外国人。”然后,两人再对视一眼,分道扬镳,各自去找下一个目标。就这样,“镇里要来外国人”的消息不停地被人们不厌其烦地传播。早饭时,消息终于传入了书记和镇长的耳朵。是政府食堂的大师傅老孙告诉他们的。
  • 节约小窍门(最实用的居家小书)

    节约小窍门(最实用的居家小书)

    节约是一种美德,是对资源的善待,是对环境的保护。节约的行为应该体现在生活的滴点中,从我做起,从小事做起。本书提倡的节约方法,包含了日常生活的方方面面,不仅可以解决您生活中出现的一些小麻烦,还为您打造出绿色健康的生活模式。主要包括:食品在清洗、烹饪、保存的过程中的节约;家用电器的使用中的节约;生活中的变废为宝等。
  • 名人传记丛书:舒伯特

    名人传记丛书:舒伯特

    名人传记丛书——舒伯特——音乐之邦的最后绝唱:“立足课本,超越课堂”,以提高中小学生的综合素质为目的,让中小学生从课内受益到课外,是一生的良师益友。
  • 罪无可赦

    罪无可赦

    “我死去,并不是你们的胜利,顶多证明庸才对天才发动了可怕的战争……你们打着正义的旗号,剿灭异己,颠倒黑白……你们笔下的史书记录我鲸吞一切,横行霸道,压制弱小。多年后,我的优点会变成缺点,唯有借我之手得到正义的人,将铭记我的功德。”——摘自本世纪最负盛名的天才语录。
  • 杀手蛋糕

    杀手蛋糕

    “雨点,不要!”莱克茜喝止着她那条正从后院栅栏上的缺口中钻过去的小狗,可是已经晚了。她来到邻居的后院时,正好看到雨点蹲在人家收拾得十分整洁的花园里。莱克茜跑过去,抓住雨点的颈圈,暗自庆幸自己没忘记带狗屎袋。右边一阵轻微的响动引起她的紧张,她蹲着扭过头去,看到一双厚重的黑皮鞋——男人的鞋。莱克茜的眼睛慢慢地向上移,停留在一张棱角分明英俊的脸上。这张脸晒得微黑,镶着一对棕色的眼睛,黑头发剪得短短的。
  • 大唐如此多娇

    大唐如此多娇

    离奇穿越。误落皇家,七子夺嫡。兄弟残杀,血流成河,皇室微弱,奸臣当道。风云迭起,外敌环绕。且看杨钺,争皇位,夺天下,定万世霸业,成千古一帝!ps:此大唐非彼大唐,纯属本人虚构,切勿对号入座!
  • 战王商妃

    战王商妃

    她,懦弱公主,皇姐陷害,未婚夫悔婚。亲情爱情万情俱灰,一杯毒酒,饮恨而终。她,顶级特工,男朋友劈腿,惨遭催眠。中奖旅游飞机失事,一朝穿越,她成了她。既然生命可以继续,那么就要过她自己想要的生活!可是上门挑衅的女人,处处刁难的商界对手,还有一直试她为眼中钉的皇姐……真当她这顶级特工是白痴吗?斗斗吃醋的女人,玩玩商业对手……还有屡次陷害她的皇姐,欠他的都要一一找回来!开酒楼,开妓院,抓情报,运用一颗现代头脑建立起一座属于她自己的商业王国。巅峰之上,光芒乍现,惊艳了多少人的眼?他,战国赫赫有名的战神王爷,倨傲的眼睛从不对任何女人侧目,狂妄霸道、睥睨天下。不料,却被自己偶发慈悲救下的女人迷了双眼。他,轩辕国太子,她的前未婚夫,本是他为了利益抛弃的女人怎么转身一变成了一座底蕴丰富的宝藏。当他在的目光在她身上停留越来越久时还能如愿的举行大婚吗?还有风姿卓卓青梅竹马的师兄,因为身体宿命必嫁的隐族族长……谁才能入得了她的眼?谁才能与她携手一生?【作者是个感情洁癖患者,坚持一生一世一双人】——精彩片段赏析——片段一:宫宴上,天下最优秀的几个男子像她求婚,各自拿出最贵重的礼物送她。轩辕辰:“这是上古血玉打造而成朱钗,收了它你会成为最最贵的女人!”百里奚:“这是百里国在天下商铺的信物,收了它你会成为最最富有的女人!”李沐阳:“这是我李家军队的调令,收了它我会让你成为天下最有权势的女人!”“恩,都不错,战王爷,你的呢?”某腹黑王爷走到她面前:“本王是天下最完美的男人,收了我,你将成为这世上最幸福的女人,而且——”俊眉一挑,狂妄笑道:“他们给你的这些,本王都有!”片段三:婚后,某个男人为了晚上的福利小心的讨好着生气的妻子“娘子,这些都是你最喜欢吃的。”“拿走,不是说你要纳妃吗,怎么还有空出现在我这里。”“胡说!本王只有娘子只有你一个,谁敢造谣,本王阉了他。”“那到不用,咱们家的怡红楼还缺一当红小馆就让他去吧。”“来人,赶快把那个人带过去。”“王爷,那可是您最敬爱的皇上啊。”不久后,听说当今圣上出现在某楼挂牌…而某男也终于上下扑倒抱得美人归了男主强大,对外人冷漠、霸道,不近人情!对女主却腹黑,无赖,各种宠着!他的目标:打造史上第一宠妃