第73章

’Whatdoyoucallyourself？’wasthesurlydemandofthatgentleman。’Youhavetheheadoftwomen。’

’Mysexdisqualifiesme，’sheproceededwithmerelyaslightturnofhereyesinjeremiah’sdirection，’fromtakingaresponsiblepartinthebusiness，evenifIhadtheability；andthereforeMrFlintwinchcombinesmyinterestwithhisown，andconductsit。Itisnotwhatitusedtobe；butsomeofouroldfriends(principallythewritersofthisletter)havethekindnessnottoforgetus，andweretainthepowerofdoingwhattheyentrusttousasefficientlyasweeverdid。Thishoweverisnotinterestingtoyou。YouareEnglish，sir？’

’Faith，madam，no；IamneitherbornnorbredinEngland。Ineffect，Iamofnocountry，’saidMrBlandois，stretchingouthislegandsmitingit：’Idescendfromhalf-a-dozencountries。’

’Youhavebeenmuchabouttheworld？’

’Itistrue。ByHeaven，madam，Ihavebeenhereandthereandeverywhere!’

’Youhavenoties，probably。Arenotmarried？’

’Madam，’saidMrBlandois，withanuglyfallofhiseyebrows，’I

adoreyoursex，butIamnotmarried——neverwas。’

MistressAffery，whostoodatthetablenearhim，pouringoutthetea，happenedinherdreamystatetolookathimashesaidthesewords，andtofancythatshecaughtanexpressioninhiseyeswhichattractedherowneyessothatshecouldnotgetthemaway。Theeffectofthisfancywastokeepherstaringathimwiththetea-

potinherhand，notonlytoherowngreatuneasiness，butmanifestlytohis，too；and，throughthemboth，toMrsClennam’sandMrFlintwinch’s。Thusafewghostlymomentssupervened，whentheywereallconfusedlystaringwithoutknowingwhy。

’Affery，’hermistresswasthefirsttosay，’whatisthematterwithyou？’

’Idon’tknow，’saidMistressAffery，withherdisengagedlefthandextendedtowardsthevisitor。’Itain’tme。It’shim!’

’Whatdoesthisgoodwomanmean？’criedMrBlandois，turningwhite，hot，andslowlyrisingwithalookofsuchdeadlywraththatitcontrastedsurprisinglywiththeslightforceofhiswords。’Howisitpossibletounderstandthisgoodcreature？’

’It’sNOTpossible，’saidMrFlintwinch，screwinghimselfrapidlyinthatdirection。’Shedon’tknowwhatshemeans。She’sanidiot，awandererinhermind。Sheshallhaveadose，sheshallhavesuchadose!Getalongwithyou，mywoman，’headdedinherear，’getalongwithyou，whileyouknowyou’reAffery，andbeforeyou’reshakentoyeast。’

MistressAffery，sensibleofthedangerinwhichheridentitystood，relinquishedthetea-potasherhusbandseizedit，putherapronoverherhead，andinatwinklingvanished。Thevisitorgraduallybrokeintoasmile，andsatdownagain。

’You’llexcuseher，MrBlandois，’saidJeremiah，pouringouttheteahimself，’she’sfailingandbreakingup；that’swhatshe’sabout。Doyoutakesugar，sir？’

’Thankyou，noteaforme——Pardonmyobservingit，butthat’saveryremarkablewatch!’

Thetea-tablewasdrawnupnearthesofa，withasmallintervalbetweenitandMrsClennam’sownparticulartable。MrBlandoisinhisgallantryhadrisentohandthatladyhertea(herdishoftoastwasalreadythere)，anditwasinplacingthecupconvenientlywithinherreachthatthewatch，lyingbeforeherasitalwaysdid，attractedhisattention。MrsClennamlookedsuddenlyupathim。

’MayIbepermitted？Thankyou。Afineold-fashionedwatch，’hesaid，takingitinhishand。’Heavyforuse，butmassiveandgenuine。Ihaveapartialityforeverythinggenuine。SuchasI

am，Iamgenuinemyself。Hah!Agentleman’swatchwithtwocasesintheoldfashion。MayIremoveitfromtheoutercase？Thankyou。Aye？Anoldsilkwatch-linin