“It’s my own fault,” he remarked, quickly. “I must be quite impossible as a husband.”
Mrs. Darling uttered an exclamation of distress. “Oh, then there is something wrong?” she said. “I thought so, from the tone of her letters.”
Jim was embarrassed. “No, I only want to get away because I’m not very well, and also because I want to polish up some old verses of mine.”
She looked at him earnestly. “My dear boy,” she said, “if you’ve lost your trousers, it’s no good putting on two coats. If you’re unhappy at home, it’s no good kidding yourself with other reasons for getting away.”
“I assure you ...” Jim began.
She interrupted him. “Come on, now—what d’you want me to do? D’you want me to persuade Dolly to let you go?”
He shook his head. “No,” he answered. “I am going anyhow. What I want you to do is to keep an eye on her while I’m gone. Take her away for a holiday, if you like: I’ll gladly pay all expenses. Keep her amused.”
“How long to you intend to be away?” she asked.
“Oh, a couple of months or so,” he replied. “I don’t exactly know....”
She turned to him, searchingly. “Is it another woman?”