She had tried marriage, and it had been a failure for them both; Larrie was right, the plan he offered was the best to be found; the vulgarity and misery of publicity she could not have borne, but there was no reason why they should not quietly set each other free, and go on their separate ways again.
There was the child of course. She knew nothing about law and supposed Larrie had first right, since as she had often said to him the law always gave the man the best of everything. And cold, utterly tired and miserable as she was, she told herself she did not mind very much. She could not put away those eighteen months as if they had never been, if the child was always before her eyes to remind [p 123] ]her of them. She promised herself she would go to Italy or Germany with her mother and give up her life to music, she had only failed through nervousness and misery last night, the future was full of glorious possibilities.
Larrie was speaking again, there was a look of judicial fairness in his eyes.
‘Since we have both an equal right to him,’ he said, ‘we will draw lots if you like.’
‘Very well,’ she said coldly.
‘Will you let me make you some coffee first, you will be taking cold,’ he looked at her quite without anxiety. ‘I can make up a fire in the kitchen in five minutes.’
‘No,’ she said, ‘get some paper. There are some backs of letters in the blotter.’
[p 124]
]CHAPTER XI
A QUESTION OF OWNERSHIP
‘And laid her face between her hands
And wept (I heard her tears).’