第69章

FicialReceiverswithflamingswordstodriveusoutofourgarden！I’dhopedwe’dneverhaveanotherTrek。Well——anyway，itwon’tbeCrestHill。Butit’shardonTeddy。Hemustbeinsuchamessupthere。Pooroldchap。Isupposewecan’thelphim。Isupposewe’donlyworryhim。HavesomemoresoupGeorge——whilethereissome？。”

Thenextdaywasoneofthosedaysofstrongperceptionthatstandoutclearinone’smemorywhenthecommoncourseofdaysisblurred。Icanrecallnowtheawakeninginthelargefamiliarroomthatwasalwayskeptforme，andhowIlaystaringatitschintz-coveredchairs，itsspacedfinefurniture，itsglimpseofthecedarswithout，andthoughtthatallthishadtoend。

Ihaveneverbeengreedyformoney，Ihaveneverwantedtoberich，butIfeltnowanimmensesenseofimpendingdeprivation。

Ireadthenewspapersafterbreakfast——Iandmyaunttogether——andthenIwalkeduptoseewhatCothopehaddoneinthematterofLordRobertsB。NeverbeforehadIappreciatedsoacutelytheamplebrightnessoftheLadyGrovegardens，thedignityandwidepeaceofallaboutme。ItwasoneofthosewarmmorningsinlateMaythathavewonallthegloryofsummerwithoutlosingthegaydelicacyofspring。Theshrubberywasbrightwithlaburnumandlilac，thebedsswarmedwithdaffodilsandnarcissiandwithliliesofthevalleyintheshade。

Iwentalongthewell-keptpathsamongtherhododendraandthroughtheprivategateintothewoodswherethebluebellsandcommonorchidwereinprofusion。NeverbeforehadItastedsocompletelythefinesenseofprivilegeandownership。Andallthishastoend，Itoldmyself，allthishastoend。

NeithermyunclenorIhadmadeanyprovisionfordisaster；allwehadwasinthegame，andIhadlittledoubtnowofthecompletenessofourruin。ForthefirsttimeinmylifesincehehadsentmethatwonderfultelegramofhisIhadtoconsiderthatcommonanxietyofmankind，——Employment。Ihadtocomeoffmymagiccarpetandwalkoncemoreintheworld。

AndsuddenlyIfoundmyselfatthecrossdriveswhereIhadseenBeatriceforthefirsttimeaftersomanyyears。Itisstrange，butsofarasIcanrecollectIhadnotthoughtofheroncesinceIhadlandedatPlymouth。Nodoubtshehadfilledthebackgroundofmymind，butIdonotrememberonedefinite，clearthought。I

hadbeenintentonmyuncleandthefinancialcollapse。

Itcamelikeablowinthefacenow；allthat，too，hadtoend！

SuddenlyIwasfilledwiththethoughtofherandagreatlongingforher。Whatwouldshedowhensherealisedourimmensedisaster？Whatwouldshedo？Howwouldshetakeit？ItfilledmewithastonishmenttorealisehowlittleIcouldtell。

ShouldIperhapspresentlyhappenuponher？

Iwenton