Part 35 (2/2)
”Yes.”
”And I went up to the tennis-court with the intention of knocking his head off; and now I'm wondering why he didn't knock off mine. Nora, he's a man; and when you get through with this, I'm going down to the hotel and apologize.”
”You will do nothing of the sort; not with that eye.”
”All right. I was always worried for fear you'd hook up with some duke you'd have to support. Now, I want to know how this chap happens to be my son-in-law. Make it brief, for I don't want to get tangled up more than is necessary.”
Nora crackled the certificate in her fingers and stared unseeingly at it for some time. ”I met him first in Rangoon,” she began slowly, without raising her eyes.
”When you went around the world on your own?”
”Yes. Oh, don't worry. I was always able to take care of myself.”
”An Irish idea,” answered Harrigan complacently.
”I loved him, father, with all my heart and soul. He was not only big and strong and handsome, but he was kindly and tender and thoughtful. Why, I never knew that he was rich until after I had promised to be his wife.
When I learned that he was the Edward Courtlandt who was always getting into the newspapers, I laughed. There were stories about his escapades.
There were innuendoes regarding certain women, but I put them out of my mind as twaddle. Ah, never had I been so happy! In Berlin we went about like two children. It was play. He brought me to the Opera and took me away; and we had the most charming little suppers. I never wrote you or mother because I wished to surprise you.”
”You have. Go on.”
”I had never paid much attention to Flora Desimone, though I knew that she was jealous of my success. Several times I caught her looking at Edward in a way I did not like.”
”She looked at him, huh?”
”It was the last performance of the season. We were married that afternoon. We did not want any one to know about it. I was not to leave the stage until the end of the following season. We were staying at the same hotel, with rooms across the corridor. This was much against his wishes, but I prevailed.”
”I see.”
”Our rooms were opposite, as I said. After the performance that night I went to mine to complete the final packing. We were to leave at one for the Tyrol. Father, I saw Flora Desimone come out of his room.”
Harrigan shut and opened his hands.
”Do you understand? I saw her. She was laughing. I did not see him. My wedding night! She came from his room. My heart stopped, the world stopped, everything went black. All the stories that I had read and heard came back. When he knocked at my door I refused to see him. I never saw him again until that night in Paris when he forced his way into my apartment.”
”Hang it, Nora, this doesn't sound like him!”
”I saw her.”
”He wrote you?”
”I returned the letters, unopened.”
”That wasn't square. You might have been wrong.”
”He wrote five letters. After that he went to India, to Africa and back to India, where he seemed to find consolation enough.”
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