Suddenly she realized that Natalie was crying. Not much, but enough to
force her, to dab her eyes carefully through her veil.
"I'm awfully unhappy, Audrey," she said. "Everything's wrong, and I
don't know why. What have I done? I try and try and things just get
worse."
Audrey was very uncomfortable. She had a guilty feeling that the whole
situation, with Natalie pouring out her woes beside her, was indelicate,
unbearable.
"But if Clay--" she began.
"Clay! He's absolutely ungrateful. He takes me for granted, and the
house for granted. Everything. And if he knows I want a thing, he
disapproves at once. I think sometimes he takes a vicious pleasure in
thwarting me."
But as she did not go on, Audrey said nothing. Natalie had raised her
veil, and from a gold vanity-case was repairing the damages around her
eyes.
"Why don't you find something to do, something to interest you?" Audrey
suggested finally.
But Natalie poured out a list of duties that lasted for the last three
miles of the trip, ending with the new house.
"Even that has ceased to be a satisfaction," she finished. "Clayton
wants to stop work on it, and cut down all the estimates. It's too
awful. First he told me to get anything I liked, and now he says to cut
down to nothing. I could just shriek about it."
"Perhaps that's because we are in the war, now."
"War or no war, we have to live, don't we? And he thinks I ought to do
without the extra man for the car, and the second man in the house, and
heaven alone knows what. I'm at the end of my patience."
Audrey made a resolution. After all, what mattered was that things
should be more tolerable for Clayton. She turned to Natalie.
"Why don't you try to do what he wants, Natalie? He must have a reason
for asking you. And it would please him a lot."
"If I start making concession, I can just keep it up. He's like that."
"He's so awfully fine, Natalie. He's--well, he's rather big. And
sometimes I think, if you just tried, he wouldn't be so hard to please.
He probably wants peace and happiness?"
"Happiness!" Natalie's voice was high. "That sounds like Clay.
Happiness! Don't you suppose I want to be happy?"
"Not enough to work for it," said Audrey, evenly.
Natalie turned and stared at her.
"I believe you're half in love with Clay yourself!"