Part 23 (2/2)
”Well?”
Her hands hung quite quietly at her sides.
”I've put up with you for a long time, Jasper. I haven't said very much, you know.”
”What?” He stuttered.
”Oh, yes,” she went on evenly. ”If it weren't for your vanity you'd have realized long ago what a contemptible little man you really are.”
He interrupted her.
”Ellen!”
His tone was astonished.
”You're so full of yourself that you can't see anything else. You're so full of that genius--; of--yours--”
”You don't have to speak of that--; you can leave that out of it--; you've nothing to do with it--; with my genius.”
”Your genius.” She laughed then. ”It's your genius, Jasper, that has nothing to do with you!”
”Nothing--to--do--with--me?”
”No, Jasper. I haven't been blind.”
”Blind?”
”I've seen, Jasper; sitting here night after night in this room with you; I've seen.”
”What?”
”Over there--; in the house opposite.”
”You mean--”
”And you can't write without it, Jasper! You couldn't write before and you can't write now without it. It isn't you. It isn't you who writes.
It's something--something working through you. And you call it your own.
Jasper, you're a fool!”
”Ellen, how dare you!”
”Dare!”
She spoke the word disdainfully. He had never in his whole life seen her this way; he had never thought to see her like this; but then, he had never given Ellen much thought of any kind.
”It's you who're the fool.” He was furious. ”It's I who've always been the brains; if you could you'd have hampered me with your stupidity. But you couldn't. I shut you quite outside. I nurtured my own genius. If I'd have left things to you, I'd have been down and out by now; and that's all there is to it.”
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