"Oh, yes," laughed Henriette; "your famous chest!" (You must excuse this little family chatter of theirs--they were so much in love with each other!)"Don't let's talk about that," objected George. "You were saying--?""You were not there. The nurse was out at mass, I think--""Or at the wine merchant's! Go on, go on."
"Well, I was in the little room, and mother dear thought she was all alone with Gervaise. I was listening; she was talking to the baby--all sorts of nonsense, pretty little words--stupid, if you like, but tender. I wanted to laugh, and at the same time Iwanted to weep."
"Perhaps she called her 'my dear little Savior'?""Exactly! Did you hear her?"
"No--but that is what she used to call me when I was little.""It was that day she swore that the little one had recognized her, and laughed!""Oh, yes!"
"And then another time, when I went into her room--mother's room--she didn't hear me because the door was open, but I saw her. She was in ecstasy before the little boots which the baby wore at baptism--you know?""Yes, yes."
"Listen, then. She had taken them and she was embracing them!""And what did you say then?"
"Nothing; I stole out very softly, and I sent across the threshold a great kiss to the dear grandmother!"Henriette sat for a moment in thought. "It didn't take her very long," she remarked, "today when she got the letter from the nurse. I imagine she caught the eight-fifty-nine train!""Any yet," laughed George, "it was really nothing at all.""Oh no," said his wife. "Yet after all, perhaps she was right--and perhaps I ought to have gone with her."
"How charming you are, my poor Henriette! You believe everything you are told. I, for my part, divined right away the truth. The nurse was simply playing a game on us; she wanted a raise. Will you bet? Come, I'll bet you something. What would you like to bet? You don't want to? Come, I'll bet you a lovely necklace--you know, with a big pearl."
"No," said Henriette, who had suddenly lost her mood of gayety.
"I should be too much afraid of winning."
"Stop!" laughed her husband. "Don't you believe I love her as much as you love her--my little duck? Do you know how old she is? I mean her EXACT age?"Henriette sat knitting her brows, trying to figure.
"Ah!" he exploded. "You see you don't know! She is ninety-one days and eight hours! Ha, ha! Imagine when she will be able to walk all alone. Then we will take her back with us; we must wait at least six months." Then, too late, poor George realized that he had spoken the fatal phrase again.
"If only you hadn't put off our marriage, she would be able to walk now," said Henriette.
He rose suddenly. "Come," he said, "didn't you say you had to dress and pay some calls?"Henriette laughed, but took the hint.
"Run along, little wife," he said. "I have a lot of work to do in the meantime. You won't be down-stairs before I shall have my nose buried in my papers. Bye-bye.""Bye-bye," said Henriette. But they paused to exchange a dozen or so kisses before she went away to dress.
Then George lighted a cigarette and stretched himself out in the big armchair. He seemed restless; he seemed to be disturbed about something. Could it be that he had not been so much at ease as he had pretended to be, since the letter had come from the baby's nurse? Madame Dupont had gone by the earliest train that morning. She had promised to telegraph at once--but she had not done so, and now it was late afternoon.
George got up and wandered about. He looked at himself in the glass for a moment; then he went back to the chair and pulled up another to put his geet upon. He puffed away at his cigarette until he was calmer. But then suddenly he heard the rustle of a dress behind him, and glanced about, and started up with an exclamation, "Mother!"Madame Dupont stood in the doorway. She did not speak. Her veil was thrown back and George noted instantly the look of agitation upon her countenance.
"What's the matter?" he cried. "We didn't get any telegram from you; we were not expecting you till tomorrow."Still his mother did not speak.
"Henriette was just going out," he exclaimed nervously; "I had better call her.""No!" said his mother quickly. Her voice was low and trembling.
"I did not want Henriette to be here when I arrived.""But what's the matter?" cried George.
Again there was a silence before the reply came. He read something terrible in the mother's manner, and he found himself trembling violently.
"I have brought back the child and the nurse," said Madame Dupont.
"What! Is the little one sick?"
"Yes."
"What's the matter with her?"
"Nothing dangerous--for the moment, at least.""We must send and get the doctor!" cried George.
"I have just come from the doctor's," was the reply. "He said it was necessary to take out child from the nurse and bring her up on the bottle."Again there was a pause. George could hardly bring himself to ask the next question. Try as he would, he could not keep his voice from weakening. "Well, now, what is her trouble?"The mother did not answer. She stood staring before her. At last she said, faintly, "I don't know.""You didn't ask?"
"I asked. But it was not to our own doctor that I went.""Ah!" whispered George. For nearly a minute neither one of them spoke. "Why?" he inquired at last.
"Because--he--the nurse's doctor--had frightened me so--""Truly?"
"Yes. It is a disease--" again she stopped.
George cried, in a voice of agony, "and then?""Then I asked him if the matter was so grave that I could not be satisfied with our ordinary doctor.""And what did he answer?"
"He said that if we had the means it would really be better to consult a specialist."George looked at his mother again. He was able to do it, because she was not looking at him. He clenched his hands and got himself together. "And--where did he send you?"His mother fumbled in her hand bag and drew out a visiting card.
"Here," she said.
And George looked at the card. It was all he could do to keep himself from tottering. It was the card of the doctor whom he had first consulted about his trouble! The specialist in venereal diseases!