And I had not so
much as hinted that I wanted it.
I shall never forget the smallest detail of that dinner--it was a purely
"family" affair, only the Ellerslys and I. I can feel now the oppressive
atmosphere, the look as of impending sacrilege upon the faces of the old
servants; I can see Mrs. Ellersly trying to condescend to be "gracious,"
and treating me as if I were some sort of museum freak or menagerie
exhibit. I can see Anita. She was like a statue of snow; she spoke not
a word; if she lifted her eyes, I failed to note it. And when I was
leaving--I with my collar wilted from the fierce, nervous strain I had been
enduring--Mrs. Ellersly, in that voice of hers into which I don't believe
any shade of a real human emotion ever penetrated, said: "You must come to
see us, Mr. Blacklock. We are always at home after five."
I looked at Miss Ellersly. She was white to the lips now, and the spangles
on her white dress seemed bits of ice glittering there. She said nothing;
but I knew she felt my look, and that it froze the ice the more closely in
around her heart. "Thank you," I muttered.
I stumbled in the hall; I almost fell down the broad steps. I stopped at
the first bar and took three drinks in quick succession.
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