"Have your own way, Kitty. But you need not be so particular. Children must be pacified by promises sometimes. Ralph may not be quite pleased in the long run, but in the meanwhile he is quieted by the expectation of good things to come. Anticipation is often better than reality, Kitty, as I have proved to my sorrow many a time."
Kathleen withdrew the caressing hand, and looked grave and troubled.
"Come now, sweetheart, you must not take such sober views of things. You cannot honestly say that it will be best for Ralph to come here," said her husband.
"That is not the question. With me it is whether it can possibly be best to break my word. Oh, John, I do want to be a good mother to the boy! He loves me, and I love him. What would he think of such a beginning, were his first experience of my motherhood to be a broken promise? Besides, as a child and a girl, I was accustomed to trust the word of my parents implicitly. I believe my father would have considered it a crime to break his word to one who had no power to enforce its fulfilment. My guardians were equally scrupulous. Let us be true in all things to Ralph."
"My darling, your appeal makes me feel quite criminal. I am afraid the memory of the absolutely perfect people you have had about you will make you rue the having exchanged such guardians for good-for-nothing John Torrance. However, do as you like. Send for Ralph. If he is lonely and miserable here, the fault will not be mine."
"It shall not be mine," replied Kathleen, resolutely. "If I have to give up some of my remaining engagements, the boy shall have a happy time."
Mr. Torrance did not reply, but after an irrelevant remark or two, left Kathleen with a "Good-bye till luncheon, Kitty." But he did not turn his head towards her with the usual farewell look, generally supplemented by a kiss, and she felt sore at heart in consequence.
Barely three months of married life were over, and Kathleen could not help feeling that she had cause for grave anxiety on her husband's account. During their stay abroad, he had persisted in taking her into the casino at Monte Carlo.
"It is one of the sights of the world, Kitty," he had said. "It can do you no harm, and I suppose you are hardly afraid of my being corrupted by it. You ought not to leave without seeing what the place is like."
Kathleen had been brought up to hate everything that savoured of gambling, but her husband insisted, and she accompanied him in fear and trembling. The feeling was increased as she noticed a sort of eager expression on his face, and heard him say, "Try your luck, Kitty, with one gold piece," offering her one as he spoke.