Helen laughed, wildly.
"I have not the smallest desire, Ronald, to put your 'cello into a bassinet!" she said.
It dawned upon Ronnie that Helen was not pleased.
"It was a silly joke of Aubrey's. I told him so. I said I should tell you he said it, not I. Let's talk of something else."
He turned his eyes resolutely from the 'cello, and told her of his manuscript, of the wonderful experiences of his travels, his complete success in finding the long grass thirteen feet high, and the weird, wild setting his plot needed.
Suddenly he became conscious that Helen was not listening. She sat gazing into the fire; her expression cold and unresponsive.
Ronnie's heart stood still. Never before had he seen that look on Helen's face. Were his nightmares following him home?
For the first time in his life he had a sense of inadequacy. Helen was not pleased with him. He was not being what she wanted.
He fell miserably silent.
Helen continued to gaze into the fire.