“Oh, Tommy! Please don’t leave me! I’m so frightened and so lonely! Don’t send me away!”
“But you must be reasonable, sweetheart,” he implored. He began to realize how terribly he had mismanaged this affair. He cursed himself. Why hadn’t he made plans? “You know we’ve got to consider your reputation,” he said.
“Oh, that doesn’t matter!” she cried. “No one’ll ever know about it. Only don’t go away from me, Tommy! I couldn’t bear it!”
He yielded. He was so distressed, so confused, so alarmed, that he had no moral strength to withstand her. He took her to the Tressillon, a quiet, dingy place where he had once or twice had dinner. He took two rooms for them, on different floors, and he registered as “Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Ellinger, Jr.” What else could he have done?
He slept soundly, although he hadn’t expected to close an eye. The first thing he thought of upon waking was to telephone to Esther’s room. He was told that she wasn’t there.
He dressed and hurried down to look for her everywhere—in the dining room, the[Pg 38] grill, the lounge; but he couldn’t find her. He was seized with panic.
When he found that her bag was still in her room, he resigned himself to wait; but he was angry—more angry than he had ever been in his life.
She came back at lunch time, composed and smiling. He was sitting on the lounge when she entered. He got up, took her arm with a nervous grip, and led her into a quiet corner.
“Look here, Esther!” he said. “You mustn’t act like this! Where have you been?”
“Oh, nowhere special—just for a walk.”