Two
Mrs. Welman lay on her carefully built-up pillows. Her breathing was a little heavy, but she wasnot asleep. Her eyes—eyes still deep and blue like those of her niece Elinor, looked up at theceiling. She was a big, heavy woman, with a handsome, hawklike¹ profile. Pride and determinationshowed in her face.
The eyes dropped and came to rest on the figure sitting by the window. They rested theretenderly—almost wistfully.
She said at last:
“Mary—”
The girl turned quickly.
“Oh, you’re awake, Mrs. Welman.”
Laura Welman said:
“Yes, I’ve been awake some time….”
“Oh, I didn’t know. I’d have—”
Mrs. Welman broke in:
“No, that’s all right. I was thinking—thinking of many things.”
“Yes, Mrs. Welman?”
The sympathetic look, the interested voice, made a tender look come into the older woman’sface. She said gently:
“I’m very fond of you, my dear. You’re very good to me.”
“Oh, Mrs. Welman, it’s you who have been good to me. If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t knowwhat I should have done! You’ve done everything for me.”
“I don’t know… I don’t know, I’m sure…” The sick woman moved restlessly, her right armtwitched—the left remaining inert² and lifeless. “One means to do the best one can; but it’s sodifficult to know what is best—what is right. I’ve been too sure of myself always….”
Mary Gerrard said:
“Oh, no, I’m sure you always know what is best and right to do.”
But Laura Welman shook her head.
“No—no. It worries me. I’ve had one besetting³ sin always, Mary: I’m proud. Pride can be thedevil. It runs in our family. Elinor has it, too.”
Mary said quickly:
“It will be nice for you to have Miss Elinor and Mr. Roderick down. It will cheer you up a lot.
It’s quite a time since they were here.”
Mrs. Welman said softly:
“They’re good children—very good children. And fond of me, both of them. I always knowI’ve only got to send and they’ll come at any time. But I don’t want to do that too often. They’reyoung and happy—the world in front of them. No need to bring them near decay and sufferingbefore their time.”

分享到：