A lady and her husband

by Amber Reeves Blanco White

Neither of the others spoke. Trent was annoyed with his father, and James was annoyed with himself. "What on earth did she want to run away for?" Julius went on. "She seemed quite happy yesterday!" His indignation grew. "Well, I must say that's a pretty thing! A woman of her age running away from her husband!" Where was he to get his money from now? "It's disgraceful, a shameful way to behave, never heard of such a thing— You needn't think I approve of her, James, I can tell you I'm damned sorry for you!" All the same, he told himself, it was almost worth losing the money. James left by his wife! Jaw-your-head-off cock-a-doodle James! Not that that excused Mary. "Perfectly disgraceful!" he went on, with enthusiasm. "I wonder if she's joined the Suffragettes? There's no saying what the fair sex won't do nowadays. Mary, too, of all women. Well, I'm disappointed in her. And if I see her I shall tell her so— If I were you I should put my foot down. If once you give in to this sort of thing——"

James crossed the room and took his brother-in-law by the arm. "The best thing you can do," he said to Julius, "is to clear out and keep quiet."

Julius looked at him and then at Trent. "I'll keep quiet enough," he assured them, "for my own sake. It's not the sort of thing I should care to have Esther know." Then, rubbing his arm, he made for the door. "Of course I can quite understand you're a bit annoyed," he said when he reached it, "I should be angry myself."

James turned his back to the door's closing.

Trent returned to the chair he had left when his uncle came into the room, and James, after a minute, followed his example. There was nothing that either of them cared to say. They would have to see Julius next morning and find out how much it would cost to keep him quiet, otherwise matters were much as they had been.

For nearly an hour they sat there, busy with unprofitable thoughts.

James was wishing that he had kicked Julius. To kick Mary's only brother would, in some small measure, have relieved his feelings. It would, at any rate, have been something that he could do. Of all Mary's offences this was the worst—that she had left him with no one and nothing on which to wreak his anger. She would go, heaven knows where, carrying his name at her mercy, while he must remain at home, baffled, thwarted, pestered by busy-bodies——

This was his mood when his idea came.

To Trent's surprise a joyful light appeared on his father's face. James left his chair and went over to his desk. "I've got her," he said. "It's worth it! I don't care what it costs. It's not for nothing I've subscribed so long to the party funds! When she comes back she shall find herself Lady Heyham! She's my wife still even if she has run away! And if she makes a fuss about it I'll call myself Sir Archibald!"

Just then the maid brought in some letters, among them a picture post-card for Mary from Rosemary. Five minutes before James would have considered that Mary didn't deserve to have letters sent on; now he was so pleased with the thought that he could alter her life whether she had gone or not that he handed it over to Trent to re-address.