第15章

ButAlicetroubledher。NotbutthatAlicewaskindnessitselftotheman，either。Itwasonlyapeculiarsomethingalmostlikefear，orconstraint，thatBillythoughtshesawinAlice’seyes，sometimes，whenArkwrightmadeaparticularlyintimateappeal。TherewasCalderwell，too。He，also，worriedBilly。ShefearedhewasgoingtocomplicatemattersstillmorebyfallinginlovewithAlice，himself；andthis，certainly，Billydidnotwantatall。Asthisphaseofthematterpresenteditself，indeed，BillydeterminedtoappropriateCalderwellalittlemoreexclusivelytoherself，whenthefourweretogether，thusleavingAliceforArkwright。Afterall，itwasratherentertaining——thisplayingatCupid’sassistant。

Ifshe_could_nothaveBertramallthetime，itwasfortunatethattheseoutsideinterestsweresopleasurable。

MostofthemorningsBillyspentinthekitchen，despitetheremonstrancesofbothPeteandEliza。

Almosteverymeal，now，wasgracedwithapalatablecake，pudding，ormuffinthatBillywouldproudlyclaimasherhandiwork。Petestillservedattable，andmadestrenuouseffortstokeepupallhisoldduties；buthewasobviouslygrowingweaker，andreallyseriousblunderswerebeginningtobenoticeable。Bertramevenhintedonceortwicethatperhapsitwouldbejustaswelltoinsistonhisgoing；buttothisBillywouldnotgiveherconsent。EvenwhenonenighthispooroldtremblinghandsspilledhalfthecontentsofasoupplateoveranewandcostlyeveninggownofBilly’sown，shestillrefusedtohavehimdismissed。

Why，Bertram，Iwouldn’tdoit，’shedeclaredhotly；andyouwouldn’t，either。He’sbeenheremorethanfiftyyears。Itwouldbreakhisheart。He’sreallytooilltowork，andIwishhewouldgoofhisownaccord，ofcourse；butI

sha’n’tevertellhimtogo——notifhespillssouponeverydressI’vegot。I’llbuymore——andmore，ifit’snecessary。Blesshisdearoldheart!Hethinkshe’sreallyservingus——andheis，too。’

Oh，yes，you’reright，he_is!_’sighedBertram，withmeaningemphasis，asheabandonedtheargument。

InadditiontoherTalktoYoungWives，’

Billyfoundherselfencounteringadviceandcommentonthemarriagequestionfromstillotherquarters——fromheracquaintances(mostlythefeminineones)rightandleft。Continuallyshewashearingsuchwordsasthese：

Oh，well，whatcanyouexpect，Billy？You’reanoldmarriedwoman，now。’

Nevermind，you’llfindhe’slikealltherestofthehusbands。Youjustwaitandsee!’

Betterbeginwithahighhand，Billy。Don’tlethimfoolyou!’

Mercy!IfIhadahusbandwhosebusinessitwastolookatwomen’sbeautifuleyes，peachycheeks，andluxurioustresses，Ishouldgocrazy!

It’shardenoughtokeepaman’seyesonyourselfwhenhisdailyinterestsaresupposedtobejustlumpsofcoalandchunksofice，withoutflinginghimintotheveryjawsoftemptationlikeaskinghimtopaintaprettygirl’spicture!’

Inresponsetoallthis，ofcourse，Billycouldbutlaugh，andblush，andtossbacksomegayreply，withacarelessunconcern。Butinherheartshedidnotlikeit。Sometimesshetoldherselfthatiftherewerenotanyadviceorcommentfromanybody——eitherbookorwoman——iftherewerenotanybodybutjustBertramandherself，lifewouldbejustonelonghoneymoonforeverandforever。

OnceortwiceBillywastemptedtogotoMariewiththishoneymoonquestion；butMariewasverybusythesedays，andverypreoccupied。ThenewhousethatCyrilwasbuildingonCoreyHill，notfarfromtheAnnex，wasalmostfinished，andMariewasimmersedinthesubjectofhouse-

furnishingsandinteriordecoration。Shewas，too，stillmoredeeplyengrossedinthefashioningoftinygarmentsofthesoftestlinen，lace，andwoolen；andtherewasonherfacesuchalookofbeatificwonderandjoythatBillydidnotliketosomuchashintthattherewasintheworldsuchabookasWhentheHoneymoonWanes：A

TalktoYoungWives。’

BillytriedvaliantlythesedaysnottomindthatBertram’sworkwassoabsorbing。Shetriednottomindthathisbusinessdealt，notwithlumpsofcoalandchunksofice，butwithbeautifulwomenlikeMargueriteWinthropwhoaskedhimtoluncheon，andlovelygirlslikehismodelforTheRose’whocamefreelytohisstudioandspenthoursinthebelovedpresence，beingstudiedforwhatBertramdeclaredwasabsolutelythemostwonderfulpoiseofheadandshouldersthathehadeverseen。

Billytried，also，thesedays，tosoconductherselfthatnotbyanychancecouldCalderwellsuspectthatsometimesshewasjealousofBertram’sart。NotforworldswouldshehavehadCalderwellbegintogetthenotionintohisheadthathisold-timeprophecyconcerningBertram’scaringonlyfortheturnofagirl’sheadorthetiltofherchin——topaint，wasbeingfulfilled。

Hence，particularlygayandcheerfulwasBillywhenCalderwellwasnear。NorcoulditbesaidthatBillywasreallyunhappyatanytime。Itwasonlythat，onoccasion，theverydepthofherhappinessinBertram’slovefrightenedher，lestitbringdisastertoherselforBertram。

BillystillwentfrequentlytotheAnnex。Therewereyettwounfilledroomsinthehouse。Billywashesitatingwhichtwoofsixnewfriendsofherstochooseasoccupants；anditwasonedayearlyinMarch，aftershehadbeentalkingthematteroverwithAuntHannah，thatAuntHannahsaid：

Dearme，Billy，ifyouhadyourwayIbelieveyou’dopenanotherwholehouse!’

Doyouknow？——that’sjustwhatI’mthinkingof，’retortedBilly，gravely。ThenshelaughedatAuntHannah’sshockedgestureofprotest。

Oh，well，Idon’texpectto，’sheadded。I

haven’tlivedverylong，butI’velivedlongenoughtoknowthatyoucan’talwaysdowhatyouwantto。’

Justasiftherewereanything_you_wantedtodothatyoudon’tdo，mydear，’reprovedAuntHannah，mildly。

Yes，Iknow。’Billydrewinherbreathwithalittlecatch。Ihavesomuchthatislovely；

andthat’swhyIneedthishouse，youknow，fortheoverflow，’shenoddedbrightly。Then，withacharacteristicchangeofsubject，sheadded：

My，butyoushouldhavetastedofthepopoversImadeforbreakfastthismorning!’

Ishouldliketo，’smiledAuntHannah。

Williamsaysyou’regettingtobequiteacook。’

Well，maybe，’concededBilly，doubtfully。

Oh，Icandosomethingsallright；butjustwaittillPeteandElizagoawayagain，andBertrambringshomeafriendtodinner。That’lltellthetale。IthinknowIcouldhavesomethingbesidespotato-mushandburnedcorn——butmaybeIwouldn’t，whenthetimecame。IfonlyIcouldbuyeverythingIneededtocookwith，I’dbeallright。ButIcan’t，Ifind。’

Can’tbuywhatyouneed!Whatdoyoumean？’

Billylaughedruefully。

Well，everyotherquestionIaskEliza，shesays：`Why，Idon’tknow；youhavetouseyourjudgment。’JustasifIhadanyjudgmentabouthowmuchsalttouse，orwhatdishtotake!

Dearme，AuntHannah，themanthatwillgrowjudgmentandcanitasyouwouldamessofpeas，hasgothisfortunemade!’

Whatanabsurdchildyouare，Billy，’laughedAuntHannah。IusedtotellMarie——Bytheway，howisMarie？Haveyouseenherlately？’

Oh，yes，Isawheryesterday，’twinkledBilly。

Shehadabookofwall-papersamplesspreadoverthebackofachair，twobunchesofsamplesofdifferentcoloreddamasksonthetablebeforeher，a`YoungMother’sGuide’proppedopeninanotherchair，andapairofbaby’ssocksinherlapwitharolleachofpink，andwhite，andblueribbon。Shespentmostofthetime，afterIhadhelpedherchoosetheribbon，inaskingmeifIthoughtsheoughttoletthebabycryandbotherCyril，orstopitscryingandhurtthebaby，becauseher`Mother’sGuide’saysacertainamountofcryingisneededtodevelopababy’slungs。’

AuntHannahlaughed，butshefrowned，too。

Theidea!IguessCyrilcanstandpropercrying——andlaughing，too——fromhisownchild!’shesaidthen，crisply。

Oh，butMarieisafraidhecan’t，’smiledBilly。Andthat’sthetrouble。Shesaysthat’stheonlythingthatworriesher——Cyril。’

Nonsense!’ejaculatedAuntHannah。

Oh，butitisn’tnonsensetoMarie，’retortedBilly。Youshouldseethepreparationsshe’smadeandtheprecautionsshe’staken。Actually，whenIsawthosebaby’ssocksinherlap，Ididn’tknowbutshewasgoingtoputrubberheelsonthem!They’vebuiltthenewhousewithdeadeningfeltinallthewalls，andMarie’splannedthenurseryandCyril’sdenatoppositeendsofthehouse；andshesayssheshallkeepthebabythere_all_thetime——thenursery，Imean，nottheden。Shesaysshe’sgoingtoteachittobeaquietbabyandhatenoise。Shesaysshethinksshecandoit，too。’

Humph!’sniffedAuntHannah，scornfully。

YoushouldhaveseenMarie’sdisgusttheotherday，’wentonBilly，abitmischievously。

HerCousinJanesentonarattleshe’dmadeherself，allsoftworsted，withbellsinside。Itwasadear；butMariewashorror-stricken。

`Mybabyhavearattle？’shecried。`Why，whatwouldCyrilsay？Asifhecouldstandarattleinthehouse!’Andifshedidn’tgivethatrattletothejanitor’swifethatveryday，whileIwasthere!’

Humph!’sniffedAuntHannahagain，asBillyrosetogo。Well，I’mthinkingMariehasstillsomethingstolearninthisworld——andCyril，too，forthatmatter。’

Iwouldn’twonder，’laughedBilly，givingAuntHannahagood-bykiss。

BertramHenshawhadnodisquietingforebodingsthistimeconcerninghisportraitofMargueriteWinthropwhenthedoorsoftheBohemianTenClubExhibitionwerethrownopentomembersandinvitedguests。Justhowgreatapopularsuccessitwasdestinedtobe，hecouldnotknow，ofcourse，thoughhemighthavesuspecteditwhenhebegantoreceivetheadmiringandheartycongratulationsofhisfriendsandfellow-artistsonthatfirstevening。

NorwastheWinthropportraittheonlyjewelinhiscrownonthatoccasion。HismarvelouslyexquisiteTheRose，’andhissmalleridealpicture，Expectation，’cameinforscarcelylesscommendation。Therewasnodoubtnow。TheoriginatorofthefamousFaceofaGirl’hadcomeintohisownagain。Onallsidesthiswastheverdict，onelong-hairedcriticofinternationalfameevenclaimingopenlythatHenshawhadnotonlyequaledhisformerbestwork，buthadgonebeyondit，inbothartistryandtechnique。

Itwasabrilliantgathering。Society，asusual，incostlyeveninggownsandcorrectswallow-tailsrubbedelbowswithnamesfamousintheworldofArtandLetters。Everywhereweregaylaughterandsparklingrepartee。Eventheaustere-facedJ。G。Winthropunbenttotheextentofgrimsmilesinresponsetothelaudatorycommentsbestoweduponthepicturedimageofhisidol，hisbeautifuldaughter。

Astothegreatfinancier’sownopinionofthework，nooneheardhimexpressitexcept，perhaps，theartist；andallthathegotwasagripofthehandandaGood!Iknewyou’dfetchitthistime，myboy!’Butthatwasenough。And，indeed，noonewhoknewthesternoldmanneededtomorethanlookintohisfacethateveningtoknowofhisentiresatisfactioninthisportraitsoontobethemostrecent，andthemostcherishedadditiontohisfar-famedartcollection。

AstoBertram——Bertramwaspleasedandhappyandgratified，ofcourse，aswasnatural；

buthewasnotonewhitmoresothanwasBertram’swife。Billyfairlyradiatedhappinessandproudjoy。ShetoldBertram，indeed，thatifhedidanythingtomakeheranyprouder，itwouldtakeanAnnexthesizeoftheBostonOperaHousetoholdherextrahappiness。

Sh-h，Billy!Someonewillhearyou，’

protestedBertram，tragically；but，inspiteofhishorrifiedvoice，hedidnotlookdispleased。

ForthefirsttimeBillymetMargueriteWinthropthatevening。Attheoutsettherewasjustabitofshynessandconstraintintheyoungwife’smanner。BillycouldnotforgetheroldinsanejealousyofthisbeautifulgirlwiththeenviednameofMarguerite。Butitwasforonlyamoment，andsoonshewashernatural，charmingself。

MissWinthropwasfascinated，andshemadenopretenseofhidingit。SheeventurnedtoBertramatlast，andcried：

Surely，now，Mr。Henshaw，youneednevergofarforamodel!Whydon’tyoupaintyourwife？’

Billycolored。Bertramsmiled。