Nutty, it is
regrettable to say, went to his room after dinner for the purpose
of imbibing two or three surreptitious whiskies-and-sodas.
He behaved in this way, he told himself, purely in order to spare
Elizabeth anxiety. There had been in the past a fool of a doctor
who had prescribed total abstinence for Nutty, and Elizabeth knew
this. Therefore, Nutty held, to take the mildest of drinks with
her knowledge would have been to fill her with fears for his
safety. So he went to considerable inconvenience to keep the
matter from her notice, and thought rather highly of himself for
doing so.
It certainly was inconvenient--there was no doubt of that. It made
him feel like a cross between a hunted fawn and a burglar. But he
had to some extent diminished the possibility of surprise by
leaving his door open; and to-night he approached the cupboard
where he kept the materials for refreshment with a certain
confidence. He had left Elizabeth on the porch in a hammock,
apparently anchored for some time. Lord Dawlish was out in the
grounds somewhere. Presently he would come in and join Elizabeth
on the porch. The risk of interruption was negligible.
Nutty mixed himself a drink and settled down to brood bitterly, as
he often did, on the doctor who had made that disastrous
statement.
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