An Inconvenient Wife Read Online Free PDF Page A

until they bring back
     the French or Italian opera. I’m afraid he misses the Academy—he kept a box there until the very end.”
    “Or perhaps it’s only the Patti he misses,” Millie said with a smile.
    “I think we all miss Adelina Patti,” William said. “But Millicent, you’ve come at the perfect time. I’ve just given Lucy the
     surprise of her life.”
    “A surprise?” Millicent’s eyes went wide, but there was worry in them as she looked at me.
    I tried to smile. “Yes. It was quite delightful. It seems all William’s dreams are coming true. We’re to build on that plat
     on Fifth Avenue.”
    Millicent clasped her gloved hands before her, smiling. “Oh, so he’s told you, then.”
    “You knew?”
    “Everyone knew. He’s been keeping the secret for weeks. How glad you must be. I shall take you to the Art Association for
     the auctions. They have the most wonderful things. You’ll need more Louis the Sixteenth, of course. Perhaps the Duveens will
     set aside an old master or two for you—”
    My head began to ache. I put my fingers to my temples.
    “Shall I bring you some punch, darling?” William asked me. I nodded, and he and McKim left.
    Millie settled herself into the chair beside me. Her diamond tiara sparkled in the light, as did her earrings, so stars seemed
     to twinkle in her dark hair. She was wearing deep red velvet, and she looked young and pretty and alive, with her flashing
     dark eyes. I felt used up beside her.
    “
Je m’étouffe
,” I whispered, then regretted it; I had not meant to reveal how sick I felt.
    Millicent grabbed my arm. “Come. Let’s go outside, where the air is so much cooler.”
    I found myself rising, stumbling amid the chairs, pushing past the heavy curtains into the hallway, where the air was less
     close, less heavy. I could bring it into my lungs. I leaned against the wall, and my friend stood in front of me, shielding
     me from curious eyes, for which I was grateful.
    “I thought you would be happy,” Millie said. “We all thought you would be happy. The house he’s planning—why, it’s so beautiful.
     And it would be all your own. . . .”
    “Papa has taken up residence at the Union,” I said quietly. “He’s there nearly every moment.”
    “But the Row house is so cramped and small. And really, Lucy, it’s
Fifth Avenue
. I cannot understand you. Why aren’t you happy?”
    She sounded so plaintive and confused that it startled me. Then I saw Daisy Hadden just behind her, watching us, and I struggled
     to find solid ground, to soothe myself. “Why, of course I’m happy, Millicent,” I said, wishing that simply saying the words
     could make it so. “Of course I am. It’s just that I’ve a terrible headache.”
    Millicent looked relieved. “Oh, it’s no wonder. I’ve nearly one myself. This terrible music.”
    “Yes,” I said, relieved myself at our mutual deception. “I find I agree with Papa; I’ve a longing for the French or the Italian.”
    Millicent agreed: “The German is so hard on the ears.”
    We lapsed into silence. Once I would have said Millicent was my closest friend. She had been, and not so long ago, but these
     silences had begun to come more and more often, and I was not sure who to blame for them. She looked uncomfortable, and I
     felt nothing but a supreme weariness.
    I had to force myself to turn around and go back to the box, to sit down. When Millicent left, saying, “Are you going to the
     Baldwins’ after?” I could only nod numbly and stare at the stage before me, drowning in the dragging hours, wishing for my
     medicated darkness.
    “I wish you had told me your plans before we went,” I said to William as we made our way to the Baldwins’ home on Madison
     Square Park. The bright arc lights streaked into the carriage windows, blinding for a moment before lapsing again into darkness,
     and I shielded my eyes with my hand.
    “Really, Lucy,” he said. “You had to know already what I planned. You