“I am. I am critical, carping, conventional, and a tyrant, everything you say, but just because I am those things, you ought to be able to see, dear Aurora–because I am those things and know it, they are the things least to be feared in me. Do you suppose Marcus Aurelius was really calm and philosophical? Because he, on the contrary, was anxious and passionate, he wrote those maxims to try to live by. When you would go and be a negress, did I make a scene? I gnashed my teeth and gnawed my knuckles, but when I saw you afterward, wasn’t I decently decent?”
“Yes, but you took to your bed. If I were Mrs. Gerald, and the Pope of Rome sent for me to do Lew Dockstader for him and his cardinals, you know you wouldn’t let me go.”
“You are wrong. I should make a point of it. I should only ask to be permitted to retire into solitude until all the vulgar people had stopped talking about it.”
“Ah, you’re a dear, funny boy; but put it out of your mind, Geraldino, do, dear, when we’re so happy as it is. Let’s go on just as we’ve been going; you know yourself that it’s the wisest, and what really you would prefer. If you’ve asked me to-day–mind, I don’t say you have; but if you have–to save my vanity and back up the proposal you didn’t really mean the other day,–because you’re always such a gentleman; you’d rather die than not behave 403like a gentleman,–let it go at that. But if you should feel now that you’ve got to back up your declaration that you’re going to persist and follow this up, just ask me over again every few days to show there’s no unkind feeling, and I promise it will be safe; I’ll refuse you every time. It’ll be our little standing joke. For don’t you go dreaming that I’m going to let go of you! You can call me pudgy if I let you get away. I love you too dearly. Wasn’t everything all right and lovely until the other day when you came out with that stilted speech, ‘doing you the honor’? We’ll take up again just where we left off, and bimeby make fun of all this. You who’ve read all the books ever written, don’t you know of cases where two like us went on being just friends, and taking comfort in each other on and on to the end of the tale?”
“There have been examples, yes, a very few, and not on the whole encouraging.”
“You know we never thought of anything else until three days ago, and were perfectly contented. Let’s call all this in between a mistake, like taking the wrong road and having to turn back to be where we were before. Let’s go back.”
“Yes, let’s go back. I won’t bore you any more.”
He had all in an instant changed to cool dryness. They would get no further along with talk on this occasion, that was clear. And to clasp her knees, laying his head on her lap, and penetrate her in silence with the conviction that they belonged together in a manner that turned all the sensible things she said into folly, could not be done outside the world of dreams and fancies. He jumped to his feet.
404“I meant, you know, let’s go back to Florence. I’m afraid it’s high time. We ought to have daylight at least until we get to the foot of the mountain.”
“Cross, Geraldino?”