Judy!
She had spoken at last with an effort. “I’ll tell him to come over after dinner. We can ride for a bit.”
“Why not stay here? I’ll be at the hospital. And the storm is pretty bad.”
She had looked out of the window. “There’s no snow. Just the wind. And I feel—stifled.”
It was then that she had called up Towne. “I can’t dine with you.... Judy is desperately ill....”
The houseworker had prepared a delicious dinner, but Jane ate nothing. Bob’s appetite, on the other hand, was good. He apologized for it. “I went without lunch, I was so worried.”
Jane remembered her own lunch—how careless she had been for the moment, forgetting her heaviness of heart—served like a princess sheltered from every wind that blew!
And all the rest of her life might be like that! It wouldn’t be so bad. She drank a cup of coffee, and then another. And Frederick had said that he could make her love him....
In the center of the table were some roses that Towne had given her. She stuck one of them in her girdle.
Bob finished his coffee, and stood up. “I must be going. Good luck to you, old girl....” His tone was almost cheerful. He walked around the table and touched his lips to her cheek.