“Richard?” The mother turned the name over. “That’s peculiar, for a surname, at any rate.”
“Yes,”—Geraldine recovered. “We know a Mr. Dick and a Mr. Richards, but Mr. Richard is singular.”
“Is that a grammatical joke, my dear?” the mother asked.
“I”—yawn—“excuse me!—I don’t see any joke, mother. Really, I must toddle off to bed.”
“Richards, of course, would be plural,” the persistent mother followed. Her mind was never at rest. “Do you mean that this Mr. Richard—without—the—‘s’ was really singular or just grammatically singular?”
“Uh?” Geraldine turned a marvellous imitation of a sleepy face. “I’m afraid I don’t see it, mother. Forgive me for being so”—yawn—“dull. Good-night! I’m off to Shut-eye town. Good-night!”
But the mother was not so easily shaken off. Mrs. Wells was never fatigued. She required only five to six hours’ sleep. At her home on the hills above Lake Keuka she would play bridge until one o’clock and be up at six to superintend the daily distribution of work in the dairy.
“Mr. Freneau began to get on my nerves too, to-day, Geraldine,” she pursued her way into her daughter’s stateroom and disregarded yawns and sleepy disrobings. “He is so patient,” she laughed, “and knows his lessons so well. Of course he is absolutely indispensable for trains, baggage, bills, ‘free days’ and so on, and, as a rule, he is absolutely authoritative. He digests all the books so impartially. But to-day I began to feel the way you do always, repellent. I disputed with him horribly. He was always right, but that made no difference. I suppose it’s the end of the trip. One does get filled up even with ideas and facts. I couldn’t listen to-day. His information flowed over me. He saw it, too. I fear I made him uncomfortable. After all, I suppose he’s just as sick of us. Fancy anybody giving up his time so devotedly. Did you get to the National Museum?”
“No.” Geraldine was putting herself deliberately to bed. Her mother had a species of clairvoyance that inevitably sifted the thoughts out of one. The topic must be kept off the Captain’s friend Mr. Richard until some sort of conspiracy could be arranged. Scruples or no scruples this man would have to do the right thing and stand by a lady.
A list of the other stated attractions of Naples were shot at the reclining figure.