The Avalanche by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton (a court of thorns and roses ebook free .TXT) 📕

To Shame Without Compromising Himself. I Had Written Him Some Frantic

Letters, And He Said They Read Just Like--Like--The Other Thing.

"I Felt Perfectly Helpless. I Knew That Even If I Did Manage To Pawn The

Jewels, You Would Miss Them From The Safe And Trace Them. I Ceased To

Feel Cool. I Nearly Went Off My Head. But I Stopped Gambling. I Felt Sure

By This Time That He Could Make Me Lose, But I Couldn't Prove It. Aileen

Told Me I Must Give Him The Ruby. He Promised Me Before Aileen That He

Would Give Me Back My I.O.U.'S As Well As My Notes If I Would Hand Over

The Ruby. He Knew I Was To Wear It To-Night.

"Finally I Gave In. Yesterday Nick Called Me Up On The Telephone And Told

Me To Come Down To The California Market To Lunch, And To Bring Aileen.

He Told Me There That Unless I Promised To Give Him The Ruby To-Night,

And Kept My Word, He'd Either Give My I.O.U.'S And My Notes To You Or To

The _Merry Tattler_. He Didn't Care Which. I Could Have My Choice.

"I Said I Would Do It. But It Was Terribly Conspicuous. Everybody Would

Notice When It Was Gone. He Said I Must Conceal It Anyhow Until We

Unmasked After Supper, And Then I Could Pretend I Had Lost It. He

Discussed Several Plans For Having Me Slip It To Him, But It Was Aileen

Who Insisted We Should Come Here. Mrs. Thornton Never Opens Her Boudoir

At A Party. Everywhere Else Would Be A Blaze Of Light. In This Dark

Corner We Should Be Safe, Especially If He Came From The Outside And I

From Inside. How Did Your Detective Find Out?"

"I Think Aileen Did A Decent Thing For Once In Her Life."

She Went On In Her Monotonous Voice. "I Felt Reckless After That And I

Really Was Gay And Almost Happy At Dinner Last Night. The Die Was Cast. I

Didn't Much Care For Anything. I Thought Perhaps It Was My Last Night

With You--That When I Told You I Had Lost The Ruby You Would Suspect And

Turn Me Out Of Your House, Tell Maman To Take Me Back To Rouen.

"Then Came That Awful Moment When You Said You Had To Go Away And I Could

Not Wear It. For A Few Moments I Thought I Should Scream And Tell You

Everything. But I Was Both Too Proud And Too Much Of A Coward. Then I

Knew I Should Have To Rob The Safe, And Somehow I Hated That Part More

Than Anything Else. I Did It Just Ten Minutes Before Rex And Polly Called

For Me To Motor Down Here. It Had Seemed The Most Horrible Thing In The

World To Be A Gambler, But It Was Worse To Be A Thief.

"I Remembered The Combination Perfectly. I Have That Sort Of Memory: It

Registers Photographically. I Had Seen You Move The Combination Several

Times. Perhaps I Deliberately Registered It. I Can't Say. I Have Lived In

Such A Maze Of Intrigue Lately. I Can't Say. That Is All--Except That I

Didn't Get The Letters And The Other Things."

"He Had An Envelope In One Hand. Spaulding Has It Beyond A Doubt."

There Was Silence For A Moment And Then Price Said Awkwardly: "It Is A

Pity You Haven't The Chain Or You Could Wear The Ruby For The Rest Of

The Evening."

She Turned Her Eyes From The Window And Stared At Him. "I Have The

Chain--" She Raised Her Hand To The Tip Of Her Bodice--"But--But--You

Can't Mean--It Isn't Possible That You Can Forgive Me."

"I Think I Have Taken Very Bad Care Of You. What Are You, After All, But

A Brilliant Child? I Am Thirty-Three--"

He Suddenly Tore Off His Domino With, A Feeling Of Rage, And Thrust His

Hands Into His Friendly Pockets. He Had Never Made Many Verbal

Protestations To Her, Although The Most Exacting Wife Could Have Found No

Fault With His Love-Making. But To-Night He Felt Dumb; He Was Mortally

Afraid Of Appearing High And Noble And Magnanimous.

"You See, Things Always Happen During The First Years Of Married Life.

Perhaps More Happens--I Mean In A Pettier Way--When The Man Has Leisure

And Can See Too Much Of His Wife. In My Case--Our Case--It Was The Other

Way--And Something Almost Tragic Happened. So I Vote We Treat It

Casually, As Something That Must Have Been Expected Sooner Or Later To

Disturb Our--Our--Even Tenor--And Forget It."

"Forget It?"

"Well, Yes. I Can If You Can."

"And Can You Forget Who I Am?"

"You Are Exactly What You Were Before Those Scoundrels Recognized Your

Mother, And--And--Set Me Going. Of Course I Had To Find Out The Truth. I

Thought You Knew And Tried To Make You Tell Me. But You

Wouldn't--Couldn't--And I Had To Employ Spaulding."

"Do You Mean You Would Have Married Me If You Had Known The Truth At

The Time?"

"Rather."

"And--But--I Told You--I Became A Regular Gambler."

He Could Not Help Smiling. "I Have No Fear Of Your Gambling Again. And I

Don't Fancy You Were A Bit Worse Than The Others Who Had No Gambling

Blood In Them--All The World Has That. Gambling Is About The Earliest Of

The Vices. I--If--You Wouldn't Mind Promising--I Know You Will Keep It."

"Nothing Under Heaven Would Induce Me To Play Again. But--But--I Opened

Your Safe Like A Thief And Stole--"

"Oh, Not Quite. After All It Was Yours As Much As Mine. If I Had Died

Without A Will You Would Have Got It.

"Of Course--I Know What You Mean--But Men Have Always Driven Women Into A

Corner, And They Have Had To Get Out By Methods Of Their Own. I Wish Now

I Had Given You The Twenty Thousand. I Prefer You Should Accept My

Decision That It Was All My Fault. Give Me The Chain."

She Drew It From Her Bosom And Handed It To Him. He Fastened The Ruby In

Its Place And Threw The Chain Over Her Neck. The Great Jewel Lit Up The

Front Of Her Somber Gown Like A Sudden Torch In A Cavern.

The Stern Despair Of Helene's Tragic Mask Relaxed. She Dropped Her Face

Into Her Hands And Began To Sob. Then Ruyler Was Himself Again. He

Picked Her Up In His Arms And Settled Comfortably Into The Deepest Of

The Chairs.

The End

Publication Date: 05-03-2014

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