Sanctuary by Edith Wharton--Delphi Classics (Illustrated) by Edith Wharton
Author:Edith Wharton [WHARTON, EDITH]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Parts Edition 3 of 50 by Delphi Classics
Publisher: Delphi Classics (Parts Edition)
Published: 2017-08-12T00:00:00+00:00
III
At dinner, with a rush of contrition, Mrs. Peyton remembered that she had after all not spoken to Darrow about his health. He had distracted her by beginning to talk of Dick; and besides, much as Darrowâs opinions interested her, his personality had never fixed her attention. He always seemed to her simply a vehicle for the transmission of ideas.
It was Dick who recalled her to a sense of her omission by asking if she hadnât thought that old Paul looked rather more ragged than usual.
âHe did look tired,â Mrs. Peyton conceded. âI meant to tell him to take care of himself.â
Dick laughed at the futility of the measure. âOld Paul is never tired: he can work twenty-five hours out of the twenty-four. The trouble with him is that heâs ill. Something wrong with the machinery, Iâm afraid.â
âOh, Iâm sorry. Has he seen a doctor?â
âHe wouldnât listen to me when I suggested it the other day; but heâs so deuced mysterious that I donât know what he may have done since.â Dick rose, putting down his coffee-cup and half-smoked cigarette. âIâve half a mind to pop in on him tonight and see how heâs getting on.â
âBut he lives at the other end of the earth; and youâre tired yourself.â
âIâm not tired; only a little strung-up,â he returned, smiling. âAnd besides, Iâm going to meet Gill at the office by and by and put in a nightâs work. It wonât hurt me to take a look at Paul first.â
Mrs. Peyton was silent. She knew it was useless to contend with her son about his work, and she tried to fortify herself with the remembrance of her own words to Darrow: Dick was a man and must take his chance with other men.
But Dick, glancing at his watch, uttered an exclamation of annoyance. âOh, by Jove, I shanât have time after all. Gill is waiting for me now; we must have dawdled over dinner.â He went to give his mother a caressing tap on the cheek. âNow donât worry,â he adjured her; and as she smiled back at him he added with a sudden happy blush: âShe doesnât, you know: sheâs so sure of me.â
Mrs. Peytonâs smile faded, and laying a detaining hand on his, she said with sudden directness: âSure of you, or of your success?â
He hesitated. âOh, she regards them as synonymous. She thinks Iâm bound to get on.â
âBut if you donât?â
He shrugged laughingly, but with a slight contraction of his confident brows. âWhy, I shall have to make way for some one else, I suppose. Thatâs the law of life.â
Mrs. Peyton sat upright, gazing at him with a kind of solemnity. âIs it the law of love?â she asked.
He looked down on her with a smile that trembled a little. âMy dear romantic mother, I donât want her pity, you know!â
* * * * *
Dick, coming home the next morning shortly before daylight, left the house again after a hurried breakfast, and Mrs. Peyton heard nothing of him till nightfall.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
African American | Asian American |
Classics | Anthologies |
Drama | Hispanic |
Humor | Native American |
Poetry | Southern |
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan(8870)
How to Bang a Billionaire by Alexis Hall(7922)
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng(6839)
Win Bigly by Scott Adams(6805)
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin(6783)
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee(5414)
Tease (Temptation Series Book 4) by Ella Frank(5393)
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin(5002)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky(4387)
China Rich Girlfriend by Kwan Kevin(4266)
First Position by Melissa Brayden(4251)
Bluets by Maggie Nelson(4245)
Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan(4112)
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen(4076)
A Little Life (2015) by Hanya Yanagihara(4010)
Right Here, Right Now by Georgia Beers(3902)
Walking by Henry David Thoreau(3673)
Catherine Anderson - Comanche 03 by Indigo Blue(3461)
I'll Catch You by Farrah Rochon(3415)
