“Displeased,” said Von Rosen. He got up and deliberately knelt before her. “I am proud that you are my wife,” he said, “prouder than I am of anything else in the world.”
“Please get up, dear,” said Annie, “but I am so glad, although it is really I who am proud, because I have you for my husband. I feel all covered over with peacock's eyes.”
“I cannot imagine a human soul less like a peacock,” said Von Rosen. He put his arms around her as he knelt, and kissed her, and the yellow cat gave an indignant little snarl and jumped down. He was jealous.
“Sit down,” said Annie, laughing. “I thought the time had come to tell you and I hoped you would be pleased. It is lovely, isn't it? You know it is selling wonderfully.”
“It is lovely,” said Von Rosen. “It would have been lovely anyway, but your success is a mighty sweet morsel for me.”
“You had better go back to your chair and smoke and I will read to you,” said Annie.
“Just as if you had not written a successful novel,” said Von Rosen. But he obeyed, the more readily because he knew, and pride and reverence for his wife fairly dazed him. Von Rosen had been more acute than the critics and Annie had written at high pressure, and one can go over a book a thousand times and be blind to things which should be seen. She had repeated one little sentence which she had written in The Poor Lady. Von Rosen knew, but he never told her that he knew. He bowed before her great, generous silence as he would have bowed before a shrine, but he knew that she had written The Poor Lady, and had allowed Margaret Edes to claim unquestioned the honour of her work.
As they sat there, Annie's Aunt Susan came in and sat with them. She talked a good deal about the wedding presents. Wedding presents were very wonderful to her. They were still spread out, most of them on tables in the parlour because all Fairbridge was interested in viewing them. After a while Susan went into the parlour and gloated over the presents. When she came back, she wore a slightly disgusted expression.
“You have beautiful presents,” said she, “but I have been looking all around and the presents are not all on those tables, are they?”
“No,” said Annie.