Rosalie sighed. What a contrary mood had suddenly seized him! She got up, with little of life or spirit in her movements.
“Then if you find me so very dull I won’t come again. Three years seem a long time, but I have no doubt God will help me to live through them.”
He laughed.
“God, being dumb, refuses no one, least of all religious women, they force themselves upon Him so persistently. Yes, I shall be glad to be relieved of your company for a while. And so please confine your wanderings to the upper storey where you live. And leave the garden to those who can appreciate its beauty sufficiently to be in by five o’clock.”
Rosalie looked at him. Pain and fear was on her face.
“Live upstairs!”
“Yes; live upstairs. And eat red lozenges when your appetite is bad. You can’t die, you know.”
She turned toward the door.
“Good-night!” he said, drawing an open book toward him on the table, and sitting down.
“Good-night! I see now my fault and punishment in staying out of doors beyond the time.”