Man and Maid

"We have before spoken of this, Mon ami--If you were a lover--that is,

if you loved--you would be dangerous even with your one leg and your one

eye--a woman could be foolish for you. There is that air of Grand

seigneur--that air of--mocking--of--Mon Dieu! Something which I can't

find my word for--Thou art rudement chic cheri!"

I wished then that I had made the cheque larger--because there was

something in her merry black eyes which told me she meant what she

said--at the moment. I must be grateful to my money though after all--I

could not be "rudement chic" or a "Grand seigneur" without it--Thus

we get back to material things again!

----I wonder if material things could affect Miss Sharp?--One side of

her certainly--or she could not have played that dance music----What

can she think about all day?--certainly not my affairs, attending to

them must be purely mechanical--. I know she is not stupid. She plays

beautifully--she thinks--she has an air, and knowledge of the world. If

I were not so afraid of losing her I would act toward her quite

differently--I would chance annoying her by making her talk--but that

fear holds me back.

George Harcourt says that between men and women, no matter what the

relation may be, one or the other holds the reins and is the real

arbiter of things, and that if you find yourself not in the happy

position of master, there are many occasions when a man must look

ridiculous.--I feel ridiculous when I think about Miss Sharp. I am

"demand" and she is "supply"--I am wanting every moment of her time, and

to know all her thoughts--and she is entirely uninterested in me, and

grants nothing.

* * * * *

Suzette left last evening in the best of moods--I made the cheque

larger--and now I am awaiting Miss Sharp in my sitting-room--I love this

hotel--it has an air of indifference about it which is soothing, and the

food is excellent.

* * * * *

Miss Sharp arrived about eleven to-day. Her cheeks were quite pink when

she came in, and I could see she was warm with walking.--I wish I had

remembered to send to the station to meet her.

"Do you think we shall be able to work here?" I asked her--"we have only

the résumé chapter to do, and then the book will be finished."

"Why not here as well as any other place?"

"Does not environment matter to you?"

"I suppose it would if I were creating it, it does not matter now."