But the next instant a softer
expression passed over his face, and he laid his hand on the older
man's arm.
"Perhaps there are many more, but there's one good woman in the
world," he said, "and that's your daughter. Come and tell me that
the Bank of England is getting shaky on its legs, and I'll listen
to you."
But the stronger the faith, the deeper strike the roots of
suspicion. Blake said no further word on the subject, and Sennett
was as welcome as before. But Edith, looking up suddenly, would
sometimes find her husband's eyes fixed on her with a troubled look
as of some dumb creature trying to understand; and often he would
slip out of the house of an evening by himself, returning home
hours afterwards, tired and mud-stained.
He made attempts to show his affection. This was the most fatal
thing he could have done. Ill-temper, ill-treatment even, she
might have borne. His clumsy caresses, his foolish, halting words
of tenderness became a horror to her. She wondered whether to
laugh or to strike at his upturned face. His tactless devotion
filled her life as with some sickly perfume, stifling her.
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