Gossamer Cord

There was a great deal of laughter, but the evening was marred slightly by the news which greeted us when we were on the way back to the house.

Hitler had forced Schuschnigg to sign an agreement before he left Berchtesgaden giving the Austrian Nazis a free hand.

A few days later Richard invited me to dinner. There were to be just the two of us.

It was strange because usually we went in a party. There was a reason, of course, and my mother knew what it meant.

Richard took me to a quiet little restaurant near Leicester Square. We had a table which was fairly secluded and after we had ordered and the food had arrived he said: “It has been wonderful to have you here.”

“We have thoroughly enjoyed it.”

“My mother was saying that Mary Grace has changed a good deal and it is all due to you.”

“Someone would have discovered her talent sooner or later.”

“Well, you did it. We are grateful to you, Violetta…all of my family are indebted to you.”

“I am flattered. But it all came about so naturally. She showed me her work and I saw immediately that it was good. Dorabella was absolutely enchanted with the picture of me.”

“We are all so fond of you. It is not only I…”

“And we of you all, of course.”

He paused for a moment, then he said simply: “As for myself…I love you.”

“Oh,” I stammered. “I…er…”

“You’re not going to say you are surprised and it is all so sudden, are you?”

“Well, we haven’t known each other very long.”

“Time doesn’t count. I know I love you. I want to marry you. How do you feel about that?”

“Well, I know it is supposed to be some sort of joke to say it is so sudden, but it does seem a little so. You see, we really don’t know each other very well.”

“One can get to know people very well in a short time.”

I felt uneasy. A picture of Dorabella and Dermot flashed into my mind. I had let that remark of my mother’s upset me. Everything must be all right with them. And what about Richard? I liked him. I found his company pleasant, stimulating. But I was not like Dorabella to rush into commitments with great haste.

“Marriage is such a serious matter,” I said. “It is a lifetime together.”

“Does that appeal?”

“I just feel bewildered.”

“You must know how fond I am of you.”

“I knew that you liked me. But this is more than that. We are talking about marriage.”

“There is no one else…?”

“Oh, no…no.”

“You don’t seem oversure.”

I was seeing Jowan Jermyn in the field when I had fallen, then smiling at me over a tankard of cider, showing me his house.

“Oh, no,” I said. “There is no one.”

“Then…?”

I looked at him. He was so earnest, a man of honor and integrity, who was devoted to his family, who lived an interesting life. Here in London I felt alive. I liked to be among people, people who were hurrying around on their own business, not watching you all the time, knowing where you came from, what you were doing. I liked Mrs. Dorrington…I was fond of Mary Grace…and Richard, too.

He was looking a little crestfallen.

“It is too soon, I see,” he said. “I just seized on the moment.”

“Yes, it is too soon,” I agreed. “I was never one to make hasty decisions. I should want to be absolutely sure.”

“So you do like me?”

“Very much.”

“You like my family?”

“Of course.”

“Mary Grace would be so pleased and so would my mother.”

“Mine would be, my father, too.”

“Then,” he said, smiling warmly, “the matter is in abeyance for the time being. Would that be all right?”

“I think it is an excellent idea,” I said.

“You are going to get to know me very well while you are in London.”

“And you will have to get to know me.”

“I know all I want to know already.”

“Am I so easy to read?”

“No, but I’m besotted.”

I laughed and he went on: “It is not No. It is just, ‘I am not sure.’ That’s it, isn’t it?”

“That is it,” I said.

“Well, I shall have to be content with that.” He held up his glass. “Let’s drink to it.”

It was a happy evening. I could not help feeling a certain gratification. I suppose it is comforting to be loved, and I had so often been overlooked because Dorabella attracted so much attention.

I liked Richard very much, and I was already beginning to believe that we could have a good life together. There was something real about Richard. I must be comparing him with Jowan Jermyn and in a way with Gordon Lewyth.

Richard was different. I supposed because he belonged to the town. I liked him. I felt I understood him. I thought I could be very fond of him.

But it was too soon. I should get to know him and his family.

When I returned that night my mother came to my room. She could not hide her excitement, and I knew that she was hoping I should announce my engagement.

“Was it a pleasant evening?” she asked.

“Oh, yes.”

There was a brief silence.

“Well,” she went on.

“Well what?” I asked.

“Did he…er…? Did everything go all right? Did he…er…ask you to marry him?”

“How did you know?”

She laughed. “My dear, it was obvious what was afoot. He is in love with you and has been ever since he saw you. He is such a dear. I am so glad.”

“You are going too fast,” I said.

“What do you mean? Didn’t he ask you?”

“Yes.”