Sad Cypress Read Online Free PDF Page A

shy off from possessiveness.”
    Elinor said with feeling:
    â€œYou know Roddy very well!”
    Mrs. Welman said:
    â€œIf Roddy cares for you just a little more than you care for him—well, that’s all to the good.”
    Elinor said sharply:
    â€œAunt Agatha’s Advice column. ‘ Keep your boyfriend guessing! Don’t let him be too sure of you! ’”
    Laura Welman said sharply:
    â€œAre you unhappy, child? Is anything wrong?”
    â€œNo, no, nothing.”
    Laura Welman said:
    â€œYou just thought I was being rather—cheap? My dear, you’re young and sensitive. Life, I’m afraid, is rather cheap….”
    Elinor said with some slight bitterness:
    â€œI suppose it is.”
    Laura Welman said:
    â€œMy child—you are unhappy? What is it?”
    â€œNothing—absolutely nothing.” She got up and went to the window. Half turning, she said:
    â€œAunt Laura, tell me, honestly, do you think love is ever a happy thing?”
    Mrs. Welman’s face became grave.
    â€œIn the sense you mean, Elinor—no, probably not… To care passionately for another human creature brings always more sorrowthan joy; but all the same, Elinor, one would not be without that experience. Anyone who has never really loved has never really lived….”
    The girl nodded.
    She said:
    â€œYes—you understand—you’ve known what it’s like—”
    She turned suddenly, a questioning look in her eyes:
    â€œAunt Laura—”
    The door opened and red-haired Nurse O’Brien came in.
    She said in a sprightly manner:
    â€œMrs. Welman, here’s Doctor come to see you.”
    III
    Dr. Lord was a young man of thirty-two. He had sandy hair, a pleasantly ugly freckled face and a remarkably square jaw. His eyes were a keen, piercing light blue.
    â€œGood morning, Mrs. Welman,” he said.
    â€œGood morning, Dr. Lord. This is my niece, Miss Carlisle.”
    A very obvious admiration sprang into Dr. Lord’s transparent face. He said, “How do you do?” The hand that Elinor extended to him he took rather gingerly as though he thought he might break it.
    Mrs. Welman went on:
    â€œElinor and my nephew have come down to cheer me up.”
    â€œSplendid!” said Dr. Lord. “Just what you need! It will do you a lot of good, I am sure, Mrs. Welman.”
    He was still looking at Elinor with obvious admiration.
    Elinor said, moving towards the door:
    â€œPerhaps I shall see you before you go, Dr. Lord?”
    â€œOh—er—yes, of course.”
    She went out, shutting the door behind her. Dr. Lord approached the bed, Nurse O’Brien fluttering behind him.
    Mrs. Welman said with a twinkle:
    â€œGoing through the usual bag of tricks, Doctor: pulse, respiration, temperature? What humbugs you doctors are!”
    Nurse O’Brien said with a sigh:
    â€œOh, Mrs. Welman. What a thing, now, to be saying to the doctor!”
    Dr. Lord said with a twinkle:
    â€œMrs. Welman sees through me, Nurse! All the same, Mrs. Welman, I’ve got to do my stuff, you know. The trouble with me is I’ve never learnt the right bedside manner.”
    â€œYour bedside manner’s all right. Actually you’re rather proud of it.”
    Peter Lord chuckled and remarked:
    â€œThat’s what you say.”
    After a few routine questions had been asked and answered, Dr. Lord leant back in his chair and smiled at his patient.
    â€œWell,” he said. “You’re going on splendidly.”
    Laura Welman said: “So I shall be up and walking round the house in a few weeks’ time?”
    â€œNot quite so quickly as that.”
    â€œNo, indeed. You humbug! What’s the good of living stretched out like this, and cared for like a baby?”
    Dr. Lord said:
    â€œWhat’s the good of life, anyway? That’s the real question. Ever read about that nice mediaeval invention, the Little Ease?