Dick brought all his
painfully
acquired knowledge of faces to bear on
the eyes, mouth, and chin underneath the black velvet toque.
the eyes, mouth, and chin underneath the black velvet toque.
Kipling - Poems
"
"Very good: that's all I am. But, Maisie, you believe, don't you, that I
love you? I don't want you to have any false notions about brothers and
sisters. "
Maisie looked up for a moment and dropped her eyes.
"It's absurd, but--I believe. I wish I could send you away before you
get angry with me. But--but the girl that lives with me is red-haired,
and an impressionist, and all our notions clash. "
"So do ours, I think. Never mind. Three months from today we shall be
laughing at this together. "
Maisie shook her head mournfully. "I knew you wouldn't understand, and
it will only hurt you more when you find out. Look at my face, Dick, and
tell me what you see. "
They stood up and faced each other for a moment. The fog was gathering,
and it stifled the roar of the traffic of London beyond the railings.
Dick brought all his painfully acquired knowledge of faces to bear on
the eyes, mouth, and chin underneath the black velvet toque.
"It's the same Maisie, and it's the same me," he said. "We've both nice
little wills of our own, and one or other of us has to be broken. Now
about the future. I must come and see your pictures some day,--I suppose
when the red-haired girl is on the premises. "
"Sundays are my best times. You must come on Sundays. There are such
heaps of things I want to talk about and ask your advice about. Now I
must get back to work. "
"Try to find out before next Sunday what I am," said Dick. "Don't take
my word for anything I've told you. Good-bye, darling, and bless you. "
Maisie stole away like a little gray mouse. Dick watched her till she
was out of sight, but he did not hear her say to herself, very soberly,
"I'm a wretch,--a horrid, selfish wretch. But it's Dick, and Dick will
understand. "
No one has yet explained what actually happens when an irresistible
force meets the immovable post, though many have thought deeply, even as
Dick thought.
"Very good: that's all I am. But, Maisie, you believe, don't you, that I
love you? I don't want you to have any false notions about brothers and
sisters. "
Maisie looked up for a moment and dropped her eyes.
"It's absurd, but--I believe. I wish I could send you away before you
get angry with me. But--but the girl that lives with me is red-haired,
and an impressionist, and all our notions clash. "
"So do ours, I think. Never mind. Three months from today we shall be
laughing at this together. "
Maisie shook her head mournfully. "I knew you wouldn't understand, and
it will only hurt you more when you find out. Look at my face, Dick, and
tell me what you see. "
They stood up and faced each other for a moment. The fog was gathering,
and it stifled the roar of the traffic of London beyond the railings.
Dick brought all his painfully acquired knowledge of faces to bear on
the eyes, mouth, and chin underneath the black velvet toque.
"It's the same Maisie, and it's the same me," he said. "We've both nice
little wills of our own, and one or other of us has to be broken. Now
about the future. I must come and see your pictures some day,--I suppose
when the red-haired girl is on the premises. "
"Sundays are my best times. You must come on Sundays. There are such
heaps of things I want to talk about and ask your advice about. Now I
must get back to work. "
"Try to find out before next Sunday what I am," said Dick. "Don't take
my word for anything I've told you. Good-bye, darling, and bless you. "
Maisie stole away like a little gray mouse. Dick watched her till she
was out of sight, but he did not hear her say to herself, very soberly,
"I'm a wretch,--a horrid, selfish wretch. But it's Dick, and Dick will
understand. "
No one has yet explained what actually happens when an irresistible
force meets the immovable post, though many have thought deeply, even as
Dick thought.
