"
And Nolan had given him one of his quick understanding glances.
There could be no Golden Age for him. For the Golden Age for a man
meant fulfillment. The time came to every man when he must sit at
the west window of his house of life and look toward the sunset. If
he faced that sunset alone -
He heard Madeleine carrying down Natalie's dinner-tray, and when
she left the pantry she came to the door of the library.
"Mrs. Spencer would like to see you, sir."
"Thank you, Madeleine. I'll go up very soon."
Suddenly he knew that he did not want to go up to Natalie's scented
room. She had shut him out when she was in trouble. She had not
cared that he, too, was in distress. She had done her best to
invalidate that compact he had made. She had always invalidated him.
To go back to the old way, to the tribute she enforced to feed her
inordinate vanity, to the old hypocricy of their relationship, to
live again the old lie, was impossible.
He got up. He would not try to buy himself happiness at the cost
of turning her adrift.
Pages:
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629