下载辰思小说免费APP
“Soyouhavecomeback，mydear，“shesaid，“andonlyhalfdead。Well，wewon’thavenoyoungwomanpushingbetweenyouandmejustatpresent，Commandantornot。Timeenoughforlove-makingwhenyouarestronger。Oh!andIneverthoughttoseeyouagain。TheremustbeagoodGodsomewhereafterall，althoughHedidmakethemGermans。“
Thenagainshefelltokissingandblessinghim，herhottearsdroppingonhisfaceandupsettinghimtentimesasmuchasIsobelhaddone。
Sinceinthistopsy-turvyworldoftenthingsworkbycontraries，oddlyenoughnoharmcametoGodfreyfromthesefierceexcitements。Indeedhesleptbetterthanhehaddonesincehefoundhismindagain，andawoke，stillweakofcourse，butwithoutanytemperatureorpainsinhishead。Nowitwasthattherebeganthemostblissfulperiodofallhislife。Isobel，whenshehadrecoveredherbalance，madehimunderstandthathewasapatient，andthatexcitingtalkoractsmustbeavoided。Heonhispartfellinwithherwishes，andindeedwaswellcontenttodoso。Forawhilehewantednothingmorethanjusttoliethereandwatchhermovinginandoutofhisroom，withhisfoodorflowers，orwhateveritmightbe，foraburstofbadweatherpreventedhimfromgoingoutofdoors。Then，ashestrengthenedshebegantotalktohim(whichMrs。Parsonsdidlongbeforethatevent)，tellinghimallthatforyearshehadlongedtoknow；no，notall，butsomethings。Amongothermattersshedescribedtohimthedetailsofherfather’send，whichoccurredinaverycharacteristicfashion。
“Yousee，dear，“shesaid，“ashegrewolderhispassionformoney-
makingincreasedmoreandmore；why，IamsureIcannotsay，seeingthatHeavenknowshehadenough。“
“Yes，“saidGodfrey，“Isupposeyouareaveryrichwoman。“
Shenodded，saying：“SorichthatIdon’tknowhowrich，forreallyI
haven’ttroubledeventoreadallthefigures，andasyettheyarenotcomplete。Moreover，IbelievethatsoonIshallbemuchricher。I’lltellyouwhypresently。Theoddthingis，too，thatmyfatherdiedintestate，soIgeteveryfarthing。Ibelievehemeanttomakeawillwithsomeratherpeculiarprovisionsthatperhapsyoucanguess。Butthiswillwasnevermade。“
“Whynot？“askedGodfrey。
“Becausehediedfirst，that’sall。Itwasthisway。He，orratherhisfirm，whichisonlyanothernameforhim，forheownedthree-fourthsofthecapital，gotsometremendousshippingcontractwiththeGovernmentarisingoutofthewar，thatsecuresanenormousprofittothem；howmuchIcan’ttellyou，buthundredsandhundredsofthousandsofpounds。Hehadbeenveryanxiousaboutthiscontract，forhistermsweresostiffthattheofficialswhomanagesuchaffairshesitatedaboutsigningthem。AtlastonedayafteralongandI
gather，stormyinterviewwithIdon’tknowwhom，inthecourseofwhichsomeratherstronglanguageseemstohavebeenused，thecontractwassignedanddeliveredtothefirm。Myfathercamehometothishousewithacopyofitinhispocket。Hewasverytriumphant，forhelookedatthemattersolelyfromabusinesspointofview，notatallfromthatofthecountry。Alsohewasverytired，forhehadagedmuchduringthelastfewyears，andsufferedoccasionallyfromheartattacks。Tokeephimselfuphedrankagreatdealofwineatdinner，firstchampagneandthenthebestpartofabottleofport。
Thismadehim
