He could skip to Europe if necessary. That sent his thoughts in another direction. Why not skip out while the going was good? Grantham could run this racket now he’d got it started. He could go to France or to the Argentine. There was a lot of scope there for a guy with his brains.
He turned and looked at Sadie, who was sleeping by his side. He was pleased with her. She’d got class, she was a looker, and she didn’t make trouble. He’d tamed her all right.
He leant upon his elbow and studied her thoughtfully. She had little dark smudges under her eyes and her mouth was a little slack. Still, she was a looker for all that. She’d last for another couple of months, then he’d send her back to one of his houses and find someone else. His hand groped for the bell, and he rang it. Then he climbed out of the bed and went into the bathroom. By the time he’d shaved breakfast had been brought in.
Sadie woke up. She yawned and stretched her long white arms. Raven poured himself out a cup of coffee.
“Do you want some?” he said.
“Might as well,” she said listlessly, climbing out of bed. She struggled into a wrap and went off to the bathroom.
Raven glanced through the paper and then chucked it on one side. He found a pile of letters on the tray and began to glance through them. Most of them were for bills. They were all addressed to J. J. Cruise, the name he had adopted when he moved into the St. Louis Hotel. The last envelope was bulky and it contained a catalogue of trains. He was reading this carefully when Sadie came back.
She poured out some coffee and sat watching him indifferently. A great change had taken place since she had gone away with O’Hara. She knew it herself. She could no longer struggle against this man. He had proved himself so utterly ruthless and hateful that her resistance had been completely shattered. She no longer lived. She sat about waiting to obey his commands. Her terror for him had long burnt itself out. It was just a matter of automatically complying with his wishes. She found that if she did what she was told he was bearable. They went out together, lived together and slept together. She had no animation, but he seemed satisfied with being seen about with her. She didn’t care what people thought or who saw her. Her will had ceased to exist.
The catalogue revived his interest in the trains. He looked up. “Get that train outfit,” he said. “Put it up in the other room. I’ll amuse myself with it, I think.”
She put down her cup and went out of the room immediately. Raven scowled and stared after her.