Part 73 (2/2)
”At any rate,” said she, ”it shows how hard I've tried.”
For all answer he laid before her Gertrude's flawless work.
”Is it any use trying to bring it up to Gertrude's standard?” she said.
”Wouldn't it be better just to accept the fact that she was wonderful?”
(He ignored the suggestion.)
”I suppose you never realized till now how wonderful that woman was?”
Brodrick said gravely he would have to go into it to see.
Brodrick, going in deeper, became very grave. It seemed that each week Jane's expenditure overlapped her allowance with appalling regularity.
It was the only regularity she had.
”Have you any idea, Jinny, how it goes?”
She shook her head sadly.
”If it's gone, it's gone. Why should we _seek_ to know?”
”Just go into it with me,” he said.
She went into it and emerged with an idea.
”It looks,” said Jinny, ”as if I ate more than Gertrude. Do I?”
Still abstracted, he suggested the advisability of saving.
”Can it be done?” said Jinny.
”It can,” said Brodrick, ”because Gertrude did it.”
”Must I do it?”
”Not if it bothers you. I was only saying it can be done.”
”And you'd like it?”
”Well--I should like to know where I am.”
”But--darling--It's _so_ much better not to.”
He sighed. So did Jinny.
”I can see,” she said, ”what I've done. I've crumpled _all_ the rose-leaves, and you'll never be able to lie on them any more.”
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