The Chinese Shawl Read Online Free PDF

odd snatches of remembrance coming through the waking up, like the half remembered snatches of a tune. She sat back in her corner and wondered at herself, and wondered why she wasn’t ashamed of the things she had said. It had all started with her being angry, but being angry didn’t account for it.
    She saw Carey watching her, and before she knew she was going to speak she said,
    “Why did we say those things? I don’t. …”
    “Nor do I.”
    “Then why did we?”
    “Don’t you know?”
    She shook her head.
    “It frightens me. I can’t stop. I’m doing it now.”
    His eyes were smiling into hers.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Saying things.”
    “Instead of just thinking them?”
    She nodded. Her eyes really had a frightened look.
    “I’ve never done it before.”
    “I haven’t either—not like this. I shouldn’t be surprised if it meant that we were falling in love.”
    She changed colour, but the change was to white, not red. She looked for a moment as if she had been shocked right out of her senses. There was a rushing sound in her ears like water, like great waves. And then Carey saying her name urgently.
    “Laura—what’s the matter?”
    “I—don’t—know—”
    Then he saw the colour come back and her lips begin to tremble.
    “Laura—are you all right?”
    She said, “Yes.”
    He was holding both her hands.
    “Would you mind if I fell in love with you? Because I’m going to.”
    She made a very great effort. She shut her eyes for a moment and thought hard about how she had been brought up, and what Aunt Theresa would say. It was all quite mad. She opened her eyes again and pulled her hands away. Then she said in a voice that was not as firm as she had hoped it was going to be,
    “Please don’t talk like that.”
    “Why?”
    “Because it’s quite mad.”
    She heard him laugh.
    “Didn’t you like it?”
    Laura didn’t say anything. She knew just what she ought to say, but the words wouldn’t come.
    He went on.
    “I’ve shocked you, offended you. Is that it?”
    There were still no words.
    “Because if I have, you might be honest enough to tell me. You’re an honest person, aren’t you? Well then, you’ve only got to look me in the eye and say you don’t want me to fall in love with you.”
    Laura’s tongue was suddenly loosened.
    “What would you do if I did?”
    He said, “Fall a little deeper.”
    And at that inopportune moment the taxi drew up.
    chapter 6
    Perhaps the moment was not so inopportune. Everything had gone at racing speed—a race without rules, without bounds. Laura at least was thankful for the halt. She went into the cloakroom and did the best she could with her face, but a powder-puff has its limits. She could, and did, tone down the carnation in her cheeks, but there was nothing to be done with the shining look which met her in the mirror, or with the new soft line of her lips. She considered what the powder-puff had effected, and decided that it was a pity. The colour had been very becoming. She found she was smiling, and before she could change her mind again she pulled a handkerchief out of her bag and was wiping the powder off. Then she went out and found Carey in the hall.
    He took her down a flight of steps into a small irregularly shaped room which seemed to be quite full of people, but when they had threaded their way among the tables, there was the one he had reserved, set right into the corner. They sat facing one another across it.
    Laura discovered that she was hungry—frightfully hungry. And the food was extraordinarily good—hors d’œuvres, and a fishy thing, and a sweet with layers of cocoanut and chocolate frozen hard, and a hot chocolate sauce.
    Carey made a charming host. He looked at her as if he loved her, but he talked of all the things which Laura liked talking about—safe, interesting things which had nothing to do with the race which had taken them so far and at such a break-neck speed.
    It was over the coffee that she told