“Fifteen—by fourteen.... The rockery there—Five steps, then the door.... Fifteen pounds four shillings and sixpence....”
Katherine was not there. He knew that she had been rejected. His mother showed no signs of discomposure. Their interview must have been very short.
He went to the window and stood there, looking out. In a moment Rocket would come and draw the blinds. Rundle Square swam in the last golden light.
Tiny flakes of colour spun across the pale blue that was almost white. They seemed to whirl before Henry’s eyes.
He was sorry, terribly sorry, that Katherine had failed, but he was filled to-day with a triumphant sense of the glory and promise of life. He had been liberated, and Katherine had been liberated. Freedom, with its assurances for all the world, flamed across the darkening skies. Life seemed endless: its beckoning drama called to him. The anticipation of the glory of life caught him by the throat so that he could scarcely breathe....
At that moment in the upstairs room old Mr. Trenchard, suddenly struggling for breath, tried to call out, failed, fell back, on to his pillow, dead.
THE END
Books by HUGH WALPOLE
NOVELS