Mike Fletcher - George Moore (best books to read now TXT) 📗
- Author: George Moore
Book online «Mike Fletcher - George Moore (best books to read now TXT) 📗». Author George Moore
Up In His Arms, But He Did Not Move, And She Did Not See Him Until
The Last Flight.
"Here You Are At Last!"
"I Am Afraid I Have Kept You Waiting. I Was Not Certain Whether I
Should Come."
"And You Stopped To Look At The View Instead?"
"Yes, But How Did You Know That?"
"Ah! That's Telling; Come In."
The Girl Went In Shyly.
"So This Is Where You Live? How Nicely You Have Arranged The Room.
I Never Saw A Room Like This Before. How Different From The Convent!
What Would The Nuns Think If They Saw Me Here? What Strange
Pictures!--Those Ballet-Girls; They Remind Me Of The Pantomime.
Did You Buy Those Pictures?"
"No; They Are Wonderful, Aren't They? A Friend Of Mine Bought Them
In France."
"Mr. Escott?"
"Yes; I Forgot You Knew Him--How Stupid Of Me! Had It Not Been For
Him I Shouldn't Have Known You--I Was Thinking Of Something Else."
"Where Is He Now? I Hope He Will Not Return While I Am Here. You Did
Not Tell Him I Was Coming?"
"Of Course Not; He Is Away In France."
"And Those Portraits--It Is Always The Same Face."
"They Are Portraits Of A Girl He Is In Love With."
"Do You Believe He Is In Love?"
"Yes, Rather; Head Over Heels. What Do You Think Of The Painting?"
Lily Did Not Answer. She Stood Puzzled, Striving To Separate The
Confused Notions The Room Conveyed To Her. She Wore On Her Shoulders
A Small Black Lace Shawl And Held A Black Silk Parasol. She Was Very
Slender, And Her Features Were Small And Regular, And So White Was
Her Face That The Blue Eyes Seemed The Only Colour. There Was,
However, About The Cheek-Bones Just Such Tint As Mellow As A White
Rose.
Chapter 2 Pg 13
"How Beautiful You Are To-Day. I Knew You Would Be Beautiful When You
Discarded That Shocking Habit; But You Are Far More Beautiful Than I
Thought. Let Me Kiss You."
"No, You Will Make Me Regret That I Came Here. I Wanted To See Where
You Lived, So That When I Was Away I Could Imagine You Writing Your
Poems. Have You Nothing More To Show Me? I Want To See Everything."
"Yes, Come, I Will Show You Our Dining-Room. Mr. Escott Often Gives
Dinner-Parties. You Must Get Your Mother To Bring You."
"I Should Like To. But What A Good Idea To Have Book-Cases In The
Passages, They Furnish The Walls So Well. And What Are Those Rooms?"
"Those Belong To Escott. Here Is Where I Sleep."
"What A Strange Room!" Discountenanced By The Great Christ. She
Turned Her Head.
"That Crucifix Is A Present From Frank. He Bought It In Paris. It Is
Superb Expression Of The Faith Of The Middle Ages."
"Old Ages, I Should Think; It Is All Worm-Eaten. And That Virgin? I
Did Not Know You Were So Religious."
"I Do Not Believe In Christianity, But I Think Christ Is
Picturesque."
"Christ Is Very Beautiful. When I Prayed To Him An Hour Passed Like
A Little Minute. It Always Seemed To Me More Natural To Pray To Him
Than To The Virgin Mary. But Is That Your Bed?"
Upon A Trellis Supported By Lion's Claws A Feather Bed Was Laid. The
Sheets And Pillows Were Covered With Embroidered Cloth, The Gift Of
Some Unhappy Lady, And About The Twisted Columns Heavy Draperies Hung
In Apparent Disorder. Lily Sat Down On The Pouff Ottoman. Mike Took
Two Venetian Glasses, Poured Out Some Champagne, And Sat At Her Feet.
She Sipped The Wine And Nibbled A Biscuit.
"Tell Me About The Convent," He Said. "That Is Now A Thing Over And
Done."
"Fortunately I Was Not Professed; Had I Taken Vows I Could Not Have
Broken Them."
"Why Not? A Nun Cannot Be Kept Imprisoned Nowadays."
"I Should Not Have Broken My Vows."
"It Was I Who Saved You From Them--If You Had Not Fallen In Love With
Me ..."
"I Never Said I Had Fallen In Love With You; I Liked You, That Was
All."
"But It Was For Me You Left The Convent?"
"No; I Had Made Up My Mind To Leave The Convent Long Before I Saw
You. So You Thought It Was Love At First Sight."
"On My Part, At Least, It Was Love At First Sight. How Happy I Am!--I
Can Scarcely Believe I Have Got You. To Have You Here By Me Seems So
Unreal, So Impossible. I Always Loved You. I Want To Tell You About
Myself. You Were My Ideal When I Was A Boy; I Had Already Imagined
You; My Poems Were All Addressed To You. My Own Sweet Ideal That None
Knew Of But Myself. You Shall Come And See Me All The Summer Through,
In This Room--Our Room. When Will You Come Again?"
"I Shall Never Come Again--It Is Time To Go."
Chapter 2 Pg 14
"To Go! Why, You Haven't Kissed Me Yet!"
"I Do Not Intend To Kiss You."
"How Cruel Of You! You Say You Will Never Come And See Me Again; You
Break And Destroy My Dream."
"How Did You Dream Of Me?"
"I Dreamed The World Was Buried In Snow, Barred With Frost--That I
Never Went Out, But Sat Here Waiting For You To Come. I Dreamed That
You Came To See Me On Regular Days. I Saw Myself Writing Poems To
You, Looking Up To See The Clock From Time To Time. Tea And Wine Were
Ready, And The Room Was Scented With Your Favourite Perfume. Ting!
How The Bell Thrilled Me, And With What Precipitation I Rushed To The
Door! There I Found You. What Pleasure To Lead You To The Great Fire,
To Help You To Take Off Your Pelisse!"
The Girl Looked At Him, Her Eyes Full Of Innocent Wonderment.
"How Can You Think Of Such Things? It Sounds Like A Fairy Tale. And
If It Were Summer-Time?"
"Oh! If It Were Summer We Should Have Roses In The Room, And Only A
Falling Rose-Leaf Should Remind Us Of The Imperceptible Passing Of
The Hours. We Should Want No Books, The Picturesqueness Of The River
Would Be Enough. And Holding Your Little Palm In Mine, So Silken And
Delicately Moist, I Would Draw Close To You."
Knowing His Skin Was Delicate To The Touch, He Took Her Arm In His
Hand, But She Drew Her Arm Away, And There Was Incipient Denial In
The Withdrawal. His Face Clouded. But He Had Not Yet Made Up His Mind
How He Should Act, And To Gain Time To Think, He Said--
"Tell Me Why You Thought Of Entering A Convent?"
"I Was Not Happy At Home, And The Convent, With Its Prayers And
Duties, Seemed Preferable. But It Was Not Quite The Same As I Had
Imagined, And I Couldn't Learn To Forget That There Was A World Of
Beauty, Colour, And Love."
"You Could Not But Think Of The World Of Men That Awaited You."
"I Only Thought Of Him."
"And Who Was He?"
"Ah! He Was A Very Great Saint, A Greater Saint Than You'll Ever Be.
I Fell In Love With Him When I Was Quite A Little Girl."
"What Was His Name?"
"I Am Not Going To Tell You. It Was For Him I Went Into The Convent;
I Was Determined To Be His Bride In Heaven. I Used To Read His Life,
And Think Of Him All Day Long. I Had A Friend Who Was Also In Love,
But The Reverend Mother Heard Of Our Conversations, And We Were
Forbidden To Speak Any More Of Our Saints."
"Tell Me His Name? Was He Anything Like Me?"
"Well, Perhaps There Is A Something In The Eyes."
The Conversation Dropped, And He Laid His Hand Gently Upon Her Foot.
Drawing It Back She Spilt The Wine.
"I Must Go."
"No, Dearest, You Must Not."
She Looked Round, Taking The Room In One Swift Circular Glance, Her
Eyes Resting One Moment On The Crucifix.
Chapter 2 Pg 15
"This Is Cruel Of You," He Said. "I Dreamed Of You Madly, And Why Do
You Destroy My Dream? What Shall I Do?--Where Shall I Go?--How Shall
I Live If I Don't Get You?"
"Men Do Not Mind Whom They Love; Even In The Convent We Knew That."
"You Seem To Have Known A Good Deal In That Convent; I Am Not
Astonished That You Left It."
"What Do You Mean?" She Settled Her Shawl On Her Shoulders.
"Merely This; You Are In A Young Man's Room Alone, And I Love You."
"Love! You Profane The Word; Loose Me, I Am Going."
"No, You Are Not Going, You Must Remain." There Was An Occasional
Nature In Him, That Of The Vicious Dog, And Now It Snarled. "If You
Did Not Love Me, You Should Not Have Come Here," He Said Interposing,
Getting Between Her And The Door.
Then She Entreated Him To Let Her Go. He Laughed At Her; Then
Suddenly Her Face Flamed With A Passion He Was Unprepared For, And
Her Eyes Danced With Strange Lights. Few Words Were Spoken, Only A
Few Ejaculatory Phrases Such As "How Dare You?" "Let Me Go!" She
Said, As She Strove To Wrench Her Arms From His Grasp. She Caught Up
One Of The Glasses; But Before She Could Throw It Mike Seized Her
Hand; He Could Not Take It From Her, And Unconscious Of Danger (For
If The Glass Broke Both Would Be Cut To The Bone), She Clenched It
With A Force That Seemed Impossible In One So Frail. Her Rage Was
Like Wildfire. Mike Grew Afraid, And Preferring That The Glass Should
Be Thrown Than It Should Break In His Hand, He Loosed His Fingers. It
Smashed Against The Opposite Wall. He Hoped That Frank Had Not Heard;
That He Had Left The Chambers. He Seized The Second Glass. When She
Raised Her Arm, Mike Saw And Heard The Shattered Window Falling Into
The Court Below. He Anticipated The Porter's Steps On The Staircase
And His Knock At The Door, And It Was With An Intense Relief And
Triumph That He Saw The Bottle Strike The Curtain And Fall Harmless.
He Would Win Yet. Lily Screamed Piercingly.
"No One Will Hear," He Said, Laughing Hoarsely.
She Escaped Him And She Screamed Three Times. And Now Quite Like A
Mad Woman, She Snatched A Light Chair And Rushed To The Window. Her
Frail Frame Shook, Her Thin Face Was Swollen, And She Seemed To Have
Lost Control Over Her Eyes. If She Should Die! If She Should Go Mad!
Now Really Terrified, Mike Prayed For Forgiveness. She Did Not
Answer; She Stood Clenching
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