Margaret Pedler

“ If ever a man deliberately set himself to make a woman care, Maryon Rooke was the man. And when he'd succeeded, he went away.”
“And I suppose all this, coming on top of the staleness of things in general, has flattened her out?” Kitty said reflectively.
“I believe he has taken the savor out of things for her,” said Penelope. Then she added slowly, in a voice which was quite unlike her usual practical tones, “Brushed the bloom off the world for her.”
“Poor old Nan! She must be hard hit. She's never been hurt badly before.” ”

“ You were caught up into it just the same as the rest of the world, and now that it's over and normal existence is feebly struggling up to the surface again, you're all to pieces, hugely dissatisfied, like every one else. You're shirking, too, Nan. You've not picked up your work again; you're just idling.” The look of disapproval on Penelope's face deepened.
“There's mo excuse for you. You've got breeding, and that means the pluck to stand up to things, even to deadly dullness,” Penelope continued grimly.
“Oh, heavens! You ought to go in for lecturing, Penny,” groaned Nan. ”

“ I can't forgive him, Kitty. I'm horribly afraid of the effect this miserable affair is going to have on a girl of Nan's odd temperament.”
Kitty turned the matter over in her mind in silence. Then with a small, sage nod of her red head, she advanced a suggestion.
“Bring her over to dinner to-morrow—no, not to-morrow, I'm booked. Say Thursday, and I'll have a nice man to meet her. She needs some one to play around with. There's nothing like another man to knock the first one out of a woman's head. It's cure by homeopathy.”
Penelope smiled dubiously. ”

“ Nan said, in a studiously light voice which hid the quivering pain at her heart, “a rising artist has to consider his art. He can't hamper himself by marriage with an impecunious musician who isn't able to pull wires and help him on. 'He travels the fastest who travels alone.' You know it. And Maryon Rooke knows it. I suppose it's true.”
She got up from her chair and walked over to Penelope.
“We won't talk of this again, Penny. What one wants is a 'far moon,' and I'd forgotten the width of the world which always seems to lie between. ”

“ Every one says 'Lindley's Wife' is a masterpiece.”
Nan had been silent during this revelation of Mallory's unfortunate domestic affairs. The discovery that he was already married came upon her as a shock. She felt stunned. Above all, she was conscious of a curious sense of loss, as though the Peter she had just begun to know had suddenly receded a long way off from her and would never again be able to draw nearer.
When the Seymours' car at length bore the two girls back to Edenhall Mansions, Penelope found Nan an unwontedly silent companion. ”

“ Nan passed out in the wake of the other women to spend in desultory small talk that awkward after-dinner interval which splits the evening into halves and involves a picking up of the threads—not always successfully accomplished—when the men at last rejoin the feminine portion of the party.
“Well,” demanded Kitty, “how do you like my lion?”
“Mr. Mallory? I didn't know he was a lion,” responded Nan.
“Of course you didn't. You musicians never realize that the human zoo boasts any other lions except yourselves.” ”

“ I tell you, Penny,” she said, tapping an emphatic forefinger on the other's knee, “you never get your wishes until you've outgrown them.”
“You've reached the mature age of three-and-twenty,” Penelope answered dryly. “It's a trifle early to be so definite.”
“Not a bit! I want my wishes now, while I'm young and can enjoy them.”
“But what do you want, my dear? You're always kicking against the pricks. What do you really want?”
“I don't know,” Nan said slowly. Then she added whimsically: “I believe that's the root of the trouble.”
“I'll tell you what's the matter,” returned Penelope. ”

“ Nan's blue-violet eyes held a startled look.
“You've got something which isn't given to every one. To precious few, in fact. And if you don't use it, it will poison everything. We artists must not rust. If we do, the soul corrodes.” ”

“ With a sudden flash of intuition, Nan understood him, and the fear which had knocked at her heart when Penelope had assumed that there was a definite understanding between herself and Rooke knocked again. He was giving her her congé, by frankly admitting that art came first and love a poor second. ”

“ For nearly six years now, she and Nan had shared the flat they were living in. When they had first joined forces, Nan was still studying for her career as a pianist, while Penelope, her senior by five years, had been before the public as a singer for some time. With the outbreak of the war, they had both thrown themselves heartily into war work of various kinds, reserving only a certain portion of their time for professional purposes. The double work was a great strain, and now that the war was past, it seemed as though Nan, at least, was incapable of getting a fresh grip on things. ”

“ The best work of a talent like Nan's is not the work that's done to buy the dinner. I may be wrong, Penelope. But, remember, my wife was a Davenant, nearer than Nan by one generation to Angèle de Varincourt. ”

“ Whereas Peter Mallory, beautifully unselfconscious, was helpful in a simple, straightforward way which gave one a feeling of. security. And she liked his whimsical smile.
She was more than ever sure of the latter fact when he joined her in the car, remarking smilingly:
“This is a great bit of luck for me. I should have had a long drive of twenty-five miles all by myself, if you hadn't been left high and dry as well.”
“It's very nice of you to call it luck,” replied Nan as the car slid away into the winter dusk of the afternoon. “Are you usually a lucky person? You look as if you might be.” ”

“ But there was a time when I understood no better than the average youngster who gayly asks some nice woman to trust her future in his hands, without a second thought as to whether he's fit for such a trust. ”

“ The color deepened suddenly in her face as the sound of a bell trilled through the flat, and she stood motionless, like a bird poised for flight. Then, with a little, impatient shrug of her shoulders, she made her way slowly, almost unwillingly, across the hall and threw open the door. ”

“ Nan gasped, and before she had time to say anything further, he had gone off to see about telephoning.
When he finally returned, his face wore an expression of humorous satisfaction.
“I've fixed it all,” he said. “Your car has just arrived at Abbencombe and the chauffeur has been told to wait there. I've hired another one here for our journey. Now let me put you into it and then I'll see about your luggage.” ”

“ He ignored Nan's exclamation of dismay and renewed his investigation of the engine.
“No,” he said at last. “I can't get you to Paddington, or anywhere else.” He spoke with a stubborn unconcern that was simply maddening.
“Then call another taxi quick!” said Nan.
“Where from?” he asked contemptuously. “There ain't no taxi stand here.”
Nan looked around hopelessly. Cars and taxis, some with luggage and some without, went speeding past her, but never one that was empty.
“Oh”—she turned desperately to the driver—“can't you do anything? Run down and see if you can hail one for me. ”

“ You've the Davenant love of beauty and the instinct to surround yourself with all that's worth having, and I hate to think of its being thwarted just for lack of money. So six hundred a year it will be, my dear. ”

“ And the guard, with a beaming smile, moved off to the other end of the train.
It was some time before the obstruction on the line was removed and the train enabled to steam ahead once more. Nan found herself unable to continue reading, and she gazed out of the window, wondering in desultory fashion how long she would have to wait at St. David's before the next train ran to Abbencombe. It was impossible, now, for her to catch the one she had originally planned to take.
The train proceeded at a cautious pace and finally pulled into St. David's an hour late. ”

“ But before two minutes had elapsed, there came another halt, followed by another lengthy examination of the engine's internals, Engine trouble spelled disaster, and Nan hopped out and joined the driver in the road.
“What's wrong?” she asked. “I'm afraid I shall miss my train at this rate.”
“I can't help it if you do,” returned the man.
“But I can't miss it!” declared Nan.
“And this here taxi can't catch it.”
“Do you mean you really can't get her to go?”
“Haven't I just bin saying so?” he returned aggressively. “That's just how it stands. She won't go.” ”

“ Animal magnetism is a thing of bodily presence. Once one is away from it, one is free. Until the next meeting! But your victims aren't even free from you when you're not there.”
“It sounds a trifle boring.”
Rooke smiled.
“Don't try to switch me off the main theme, which is your work.”
Nan sprang up.
“Don't bully me any more,” she said quickly, “and I'll play one of my recent compositions for you.”
She sauntered across to the piano and began to play a little rippling melody, full of sunshine and laughter, even though a sob ran through it. ”

“ The Davenant history showed a line of men and women gifted beyond the average, the artistic bias paramount, and the interpolation of a Frenchwoman, in the person of Nan's great-grandmother, had only added to the temperamental burden of the race. ”

“ Whereas if he had perfect manners, I believe I could forgive him half the sins in the Decalogue.”
“Manners are merely external,” protested Penelope, although privately she acknowledged to a sneaking agreement with Nan's point of view.
“Well,” retorted Nan, “we've got to live with externals, haven't we? It's only on rare occasions that people admit each other to their souls' doorsteps. Besides,” she continued argumentatively, “decent manners aren't external. ”

“ Somewhat to Nan's surprise—and, although she would not have acknowledged it, to her annoyance—Peter Mallory ensconced himself next to Penelope, and Ralph Fenton, the singer, thus driven from the haven where he would be, came to anchor beside Nan.
“I've not seen you for a long time, Miss Davenant. How's the world been treating you?” ”