For several moments they sat in silence. Then Briggs broke out: “He’s been fooled so often, he says I’m the only man in the world he can trust. I felt like a hypocrite, Helen. Honestly, I thought of asking him to go to you and to get you to tell him all about me. I didn’t have the nerve to tell him the truth myself. It would have been easier,” he added whimsically, “to put that on you.”
“I shouldn’t have found it very hard, Douglas,” she said with a smile.
“You wouldn’t?”
She shook her head. “And I’m afraid you’re growing morbid about the past, dear. It’s over, and why think about it?”
“I have to think about it now and then,” he said grimly. He pressed his hand against his forehead. “Of course, I know what you mean. I ought to think about the future—and I do—I think of it—well, most of the time.” He rose nervously and began to walk up and down the room. “Somehow those people make me realize what we’re up against.”
“It would help us out if we were to have the girls with us in Washington,” said Helen conservatively.
An expression of annoyance and disgust appeared in his face. “But why should we have our home invaded like that? Why should you have to—?” He turned away angrily.
“I shouldn’t mind, dear. It really would make things easier for me.”
“Easier?”
Helen bowed her head. “We could have more servants. And I should—I should worry less about the expense.”