When he came into his own room, a thick letter from his wife lay on the table. Before he broke the seal he laid aside his wet garments, being in no haste to read any more of the now incessant reproaches and complaints with which Winifred had recently deluged him.
"Finally ... he cut the envelope and seated himself beside the lamp."
Finally, when he was ready, he cut the envelope and seated himself beside the lamp. She wrote from the house in Kent:
"It was a very different matter when you were travelling about and I could say that you were off on another exploring expedition. But your return from South America was mentioned in the London papers;
and the fact that you are now not only in New York but that you have also gone into business there is known and is the subject of comment.
"I shall be, as usual, perfectly frank with you; I do not care whether you are here or not; in fact I infinitely prefer your absence to your presence. But your engaging in business in New York is a very different matter, and creates a different situation for me.