Beggar’s Choice Read Online Free PDF Page B

see.”
    The irony of his voice drew a jerk of the shoulder.
    â€œI see,” said Car again. “Well, you’ll square up—and then?”
    â€œI thought I might go out to Peter,” said Fay with a quick sidelong glance. “Suppose it took four hundred to clear everything right off—that would leave a hundred to get my passage and anything I really had to take with me.”
    Car got up.
    â€œAnd what do you propose to tell Peter?”
    Fay’s lids lifted; her eyes, palely blue, looked straight at him with an effect of innocent surprise.
    â€œThere wouldn’t be anything to tell him—I should be all square,” she said.
    â€œThe clean slate! Well?” He laughed harshly. “Where’s the money coming from?”
    â€œCar!”
    The fear in her voice was not put on. Yes, Fay’s fear was the one thing that stood out plain. She was unmistakably afraid.
    â€œCar—Peter said he’d have my passage money saved by October. If you cabled to him and said I must have it now—”
    â€œIt wouldn’t be five hundred pounds.”
    â€œNo. But if I got out of the country—if I got clear—do you think they would try and get me back?”
    â€œYes—they might.” He was considering. “Yes, I think they would—if you’d gone off with four hundred pounds.”
    â€œI haven’t ! I wish you wouldn’t say things like that. They couldn’t bring me back because I’d borrowed some money—I’m sure they couldn’t.”
    Car got his hand on the door.
    â€œOh, stop talking about borrowing! Call things by their proper names if you want me to help you.” He steadied his temper with an effort. “Look here, Fay, I’ll help you if I can.”
    â€œFor Peter’s sake?”
    â€œYes,” said Car.
    â€œNot for mine?” Her lashes were low over the watching blue of her eyes. He had the feeling that something was waiting for his answer, something that he didn’t understand.
    He opened the door.
    â€œI’ll do what I can,” he said roughly, and went out of the room.
    When the door shut, Fay was staring at it, her eyes wide open now. They were angry, bright, and daring. But the door was shut.
    The door was shut and Car’s steps going away. She jumped up and ran to the door, but he was gone. What was the good of calling him back? He only cared about Peter. He didn’t care for her. If she was Peter’s wife, he would know that she existed; but if she was only Fay Everitt, he wouldn’t even know that. Her face went white and hard. Why should he care about Peter like that—stupid, fat, blundering Peter? If he was only going to help her for Peter’s sake, he could leave it alone. No—no—no—she’d got to be helped. Fear came again like a stabbing pain.
    She walked to the bed and stared through swimming tears at the green lace dress which lay across it. Then suddenly, passionately, she threw herself down and broke into a flood of unrestrained weeping.

V
    Carthew Fairfax’s diary:
    September 14 th —I’ve had a scene with Fay. She seems to have got herself into a perfectly beastly hole. I was losing my temper, so I came away. It looks as if some money has got to be found somehow. She talked as if you could pick it up in the street. I’m writing this to-night because odd things keep happening and I want to write them down. It’s simply ages since anything happened at all and now it’s just one damn thing after another. I’m not going to write about the scene with Fay—it riles me too much, and she’s got into the sort of mess that’s better not written about. It’s bad luck on Peter. She says he’s pretty well got her passage money saved. He didn’t say anything about it in his last to me—but then, come to think of it, I can about count on my fingers the times he’s ever mentioned