"I mean that I want to find just who is interested in this up-state water-power grant before I go any farther. That is why I came down,--to see one or two men, especially Princhard."
While Cornelia was thinking of certain remarks that the Senator had made, Percy added, "I am not the Senator"s hired man."
"Of course not!"
Her husband"s next remark was startling,--"I have almost made up my mind to get out, Con,--to take Jackson"s offer of a partnership and stick to the law."
Here, Conny recognized, was a crisis, and like most crises it came unexpectedly. Conny rose to meet it. Husband and wife discussed the situation, personal and political, of Percy"s fortunes for a long time, and it was not settled when it was time for bed.
"Con," her husband said, still sitting before the fire as she turned out the lights and selected a book for night reading, "aren"t you going pretty far with Tom?"
Conny paused and looked at him questioningly.
"Yes," she admitted in an even voice. "I have gone pretty far.... I wanted to tell you about it. But this political business has worried you so much lately that I didn"t like to add anything."
As Percy made no reply, she said tentatively:--
"I may go farther, Percy.... Tom loves me--very much!"
"It means that--you care for him--the same way?"
"He"s given me something," Conny replied evasively, "something I never felt--just that way--before."
"Yes, Tom is of an emotional nature," Woodyard remarked dryly.
"You don"t like Tom. Men wouldn"t, I can understand. He isn"t like most men.... But women like him!"
Then for a while they waited, until he spoke, a little wearily, dispa.s.sionately.
"You know, Con, I always want you to have everything that is best for you--that you feel you need to complete your life. We have been the best sort of partners, trying not to limit each other in any way.... I know I have never been enough for you, given you all that you ought to have, in some ways. I am not emotional, as Tom is! And you have done everything for me. I shall never forget that. So if another can do something for you, make your life happier, fuller,--you must do it, take it. I should be a beastly pig to interfere!"
He spoke evenly, and at the end he smiled rather wanly.
"I know you mean it, Percy,--every word. But I shouldn"t want you to be unhappy," replied Conny, in a subdued voice.
"You need not think of me--if you feel sure that this is best for you."
"You know that I could not do anything that might hurt our life,--_that_ is the most important!"
Her husband nodded.
"The trouble is that I want both!" she a.n.a.lyzed gravely; "both in different ways."
A slight smile crept under her husband"s mustache, but he made no comment.
"I shall always be honest with you, Percy, and if at any time it becomes--"
"You needn"t explain," Percy interrupted hurriedly. "I don"t ask! I don"t want to know what is peculiarly your own affair, as this.... As I said, you must live your life as you choose, not hampered by me. We have always believed that was the best way, and meant it, too, haven"t we?"
"But you have never wanted your own life," Conny remarked reflectively.
"No, not that way!" The look on Percy"s face made Conny frown. She was afraid that he was keeping something back.
"I suppose it is different with a man."
"No, not always," and the smile reappeared under the mustache, a painful smile. "But you see in my case I never wanted--more."
"Oh!" murmured Conny, more troubled than ever.
"You won"t do it lightly, whatever you do, I know! ... And I"ll manage--I shall be away a good deal this winter."
There was another long silence, and when Conny sighed and prepared to leave the room, Percy spoke:--
"There"s one thing, Conny.... This mustn"t affect the children."
"Oh, Percy!" she protested. "Of course not."
"You must be careful that it won"t--in any way, you understand. That would be very--wrong."
"Of course," Conny admitted in the same slightly injured tone, as if he were undervaluing her character. "Whatever I do," she added, "I shall not sacrifice you or the children, naturally."
"We needn"t talk more about it, then, need we?"
Conny slowly crossed the room to her husband, and putting one hand on his shoulder she leaned down and pushed up the hair from his forehead, murmuring:--
"You know I love you, Percy!"
"I know it, dear," he answered, caressing her face with his fingers. "If I don"t happen to be enough for you, it is my fault--not yours."
"It isn"t that!" she protested. But she could not explain what else it was that drew her to Cairy so strongly. "It mustn"t make any difference between us. It won"t, will it?"
Percy hesitated a moment, still caressing the lovely face.
"I don"t think so, Con.... But you can"t tell that now--do you think?"
"It mustn"t!" she said decisively, as if the matter was wholly in her own hands. And leaning still closer towards him, she whispered: "You are wonderful to me. A man who can take things as you do is really--big!" She meant him to understand that she admired him more than ever, that in respect to character she recognized that he was larger and finer than the other man.
Percy kissed the cheek so close to his lips. Conny shrank back perceptibly.
Some elemental instinct of the female pushed its way through her broad-minded modern philosophy and made her shudder at the double embrace.
She controlled herself at once and again bowed her beautiful head to his.
But Percy did not offer to kiss her.
"There are other things in life than pa.s.sion," she remarked slowly.
Percy looking directly into her eyes observed dryly: "Oh, many more.... But pa.s.sion plays the deuce with the rest sometimes!"
And he held open the door for his wife to leave the room.