第62章

“Naturalindolence，youmean。It’sreallydreadful!“

AndAmylookedsevere。

“Notsobadasitseems，forIshouldonlyplaguehimifI

went，soImightaswellstayandplagueyoualittlelonger，youcanbearitbetter，infactIthinkitagreeswithyouexcellently。“

AndLauriecomposedhimselfforaloungeonthebroadledgeofthebalustrade。

Amyshookherheadandopenedhersketchbookwithanairofresignation，butshehadmadeuphermindtolecture`thatboy’andinaminuteshebeganagain。

“Whatareyoudoingjustnow？“

“Watchinglizards。“

“No，no。Imeanwhatdoyouintendandwishtodo？“

“Smokeacigarette，ifyou’llallowme。“

“Howprovokingyouare!Idon’tapproveofcigarsandIwillonlyallowitonconditionthatyouletmeputyouintomysketch。Ineedafigure。“

“Withallthepleasureinlife。Howwillyouhaveme，fulllengthorthree-quarters，onmyheadormyheels？Ishouldrespectfullysuggestarecumbentposture，thenputyourselfinalsoandcallit`Dolcefarniente’。“

“Stayasyouare，andgotosleepifyoulike。Iintendtoworkhard，“saidAmyinhermostenergetictone。

“Whatdelightfulenthusiasm!“Andheleanedagainstatallurnwithanirofentiresatisfaction。

“WhatwouldJosayifshesawyounow？“askedAmyimpatiently，hopingtostirhimupbythementionofherstillmoreenergeticsister’sname。

“Asusual，`Goaway，Teddy。I’mbusy!’“Helaughedashespoke，butthelaughwasnotnatural，andashadepassedoverhisface，fortheutteranceofthefamiliarnametouchedthewoundthatwasnothealedyet。BothtoneandshadowstruckAmy，forshehadseenandheardthembefore，andnowshelookedupintimetocatchanewexpressiononLaurie’sface——ahardbitterlook，fullofpain，dissatisfaction，andregret。Itwasgonebeforeshecouldstudyitandthelistlessexpressionbackagain。

Shewatchedhimforamomentwithartisticpleasure，thinkinghowlikeanItalianhelooked，ashelaybaskinginthesunwithuncoveredheadandeyesfullofsoutherndreaminess，forheseemedtohaveforgottenherandfallenintoareverie。

“Youlookliketheeffigyofayoungknightasleeponhistomb，“shesaid，carefullytracingthewell-cutprofiledefinedagainstthedarkstone。

“WishIwas!“

“That’safoolishwish，unlessyouhavespoiledyourlife。

Youaresochanged，Isometimesthink——“ThereAmystopped，withahalf-timid，half-wistfullook，moresignificantthanherunfinishedspeech。

Lauriesawandunderstoodtheaffectionateanxietywhichshehesitatedtoexpress，andlookingstraightintohereyes，said，justasheusedtosayittohermother，“It’sallright，ma’am。“

Thatsatisfiedherandsetatrestthedoubtsthathadbeguntoworryherlately。Italsotouchedher，andsheshowedthatitdid，bythecordialtoneinwhichshesaid……

“I’mgladofthat!Ididn’tthinkyou’dbeenaverybadboy，butIfanciedyoumighthavewastedmoneyatthatwickedBaden-Baden，lostyourhearttosomecharmingFrenchwomanwithahusband，orgotintosomeofthescrapesthatyoungmenseemtoconsideranecessarypartofaforeigntour。Don’tstayoutthereinthesun，comeandlieonthegrasshereand`letusbefriendly’，asJousedtosaywhenwegotinthesofacornerandtoldsecrets。“

Laurieobedientlythrewhimselfdownontheturf，andbegantoamusehimselfbystickingdaisiesintotheribbonsofAmy’shat，thatlaythere。

“I’mallreadyforthesecrets。“Andheglancedupwithadecidedexpressionofinterestinhiseyes。

“I’venonetotell。Youmaybegin。“

“Haven’tonetoblessmyselfwith。Ithoughtperhapsyou’dhadsomenewsfromhome……“

“Youhaveheardallthathascomelately。Don’tyouhearoften？IfanciedJowouldsendyouvolumes。“

“She’sverybusy。I’mrovingaboutso，it’simpossibletoberegular，youknow。Whendoyoubeginyourgreatworkofart，Raphaella？’heasked。changingthesubjectabruptlyafteranotherpause，inwhichhehadbeenwonderingifAmyknewhissecretandwantedtotalkaboutit。

“Never，“sheanswered，withadespondentbutdecidedair。

“Rometookallthevanityoutofme，forafterseeingthewondersthere，Ifelttooinsignificanttoliveandgaveupallmyfoolishhopesindespair。“

“Whyshouldyou，withsomuchenergyandtalent？“

“That’sjustwhy，becausetalentisn’tgenius，andnoamountofenergycanmakeitso。Iwanttobegreat，ornothing。

Iwon’tbeacommon-placedauber，soIdon’tintendtotryanymore。“

“Andwhatareyougoingtodowithyourselfnow，ifImayask？“

“Polishupmyothertalents，andbeanornamenttosociety，ifIgetthechance。“

Itwasacharacteristicspeech，andsoundeddaring，butaudacitybecomesyoungpeople，andAmy’sambiti