The Duchesse had dropped the "thee and thou"--it hurt me.
"I want to treat her with every respect--" I reiterated.
"Then believe me it is unnecessary for you to know her name--I am not
altogether pleased with you, Nicholas."
"Dear Duchesse! that grieves me--I wish I could explain--I have only
wanted to be kind--and I don't even know her address and could not send
flowers when her brother died."
"They did not want flowers, perhaps--Take my advice--of the best I can
give--Pay your secretary her wages--as high ones as she will accept--and
then treat her as if she were fifty years old--and wore glasses!"
"She does wear glasses--abominable yellow horn rimmed spectacles!" I
announced excitedly.--"Have you never seen them?"
The Duchesse's eyes flashed--.
"I have not said I ever met Miss Sharp, Nicholas--"
I knew the affair was now hopeless--and that I would only risk the real
displeasure of my dear old friend if I continued in this way. So I
subsided.--I had some instinct too that I would not receive sympathy
even if I owned that my intentions were strictly honourable.
"I will say no more--except that should you know these people cherè
Duchesse--and you ever discover that I could help them in any way--that
you will call upon me to any extent."
She looked at me very searchingly and said laconically.
"Bien."
Then we talked of other things, and I tried to reingratiate myself--The
war was going better--Foch would wish to push his advantage. Things must
have some end--in the near future.--When was I going to England?--All
these subjects we discussed.
"When I am out of the hands of these doctors and have my new leg and
eye--I will return, and then, I want to go into Parliament."
The Duchesse warmed up at once.--That was just the thing for me to
do--that and to marry some nice girl of my own world, of which there
must be an embarrassment of choice--with all the men killed in my
country!
"I would want such an exceptional woman, Duchesse!"
"Do not look for the moon, my son--Be thankful if she has been
sufficiently well brought up to have a decent conduct--the manners of
the young girls now revolt me.--I try to go with the times----but these
new fashions are disgusting."
"Do you think a woman ought to be perfectly innocent and ignorant of
life to make the marriage happy--" I asked.
"The insides of the minds of young girls one is never sure of, but the
tenue should be correct at all costs, so that they may have something
to uphold them as well as religion--which is no longer so surrounding
as it used to be."