"If I could be sure of not offending you I should like to speak to you about something that concerns yourself only—I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I have thought a good deal about it. Hm; it is about Irgens—You should not allow Aagot to go out so much. Miss Aagot walks a good deal with him lately. It would be all right if you were along; of course, it is perfectly right as it is—that she should take a walk occasionally, but—Well, don't be angry because I mention this."
Ole looked at him with open mouth, then he burst out laughing.
"But, friend Andreas, what do you mean? Since when did you begin to look at people distrustfully?"
Tidemand interrupted him brusquely.
"I only want to tell you that I have never been in the habit of carrying gossip."
Ole looked at him steadily. What could be the matter with Tidemand? His eyes had become cold and steely; he put down his glass hard. Gossip? Of course not. Tidemand did not carry gossip, but his mind must have become affected.
"Well, you may be right if you mean that this kind of thing may lead to unpleasant comment, to gossip," Ole said finally. "I really have not given it a thought, but now you mention it—I will give Aagot a hint the first opportunity I have."
Nothing further was said on the subject; the conversation swung back to
Tidemand's affairs.
How was it—did he still take his meals in restaurants?
He did for the present. What else could he do? He would have to stick to the restaurants for a while, otherwise the gossips would finish poor Hanka altogether. People would simply say that she was to blame if he hadn't kept house the last few years; no sooner had she departed than Tidemand again went to housekeeping and stayed at home. Nobody knew what construction might be put on such things; Hanka did not have too many friends. Tidemand laughed at the thought that he was fooling the slanderous tongues so capitally. "She came to see me a couple of days ago; I was in my office. I thought at first it was some bill-collector, some dun or other, who knocked at my door; but it was Hanka. Can you guess what she wanted? She came to give me a hundred crowns! She had probably saved the money. Of course, you might say that it really was my own money; you might say that. Still, she could have kept it; but she knew I was a little pinched—She hasn't gone out at all the last few days; I am at a loss to know how she is keeping alive. I don't see her, but the maid says she eats in her room sometimes. She is working, too; she is busy all the time."