“But he is related to me,—that man,” she said, passionately. “You must look out for him. I dare say he would like some money.”
“He will gamble away precious few of my hard-earned shillings.”
“In that case we will look after him. You need not fear that I shall forget the relationship he bears to you. While he is in health he is able to look out for himself.”
“What does he do for a living?” asked Nina, with a shudder. “That is one thing you did not tell me the other day.”
Her husband hesitated, then said, unwillingly: “He is a jack-of-all-trades. His forte used to be gambling; but I believe now he hangs about theatres,—he manages to exist.”
“Would he have been unkind to me if I had gone with him?” asked Nina, nervously.
Her husband scowled. “Don’t talk about him,—he is a brute. He cares no more for you than for a dog in the streets. Put him out of your thoughts.”
Nina leaned her head against a chair seat, closed her eyes, and gave herself up to meditation. In three minutes she scrambled to her feet, and flung her hands out before her. “It’s gone!”
“What has gone?”