It seemed to indicate some subtle change in Ruth’s character, some new quality of hardness added to it. The Ruth he had left when he sailed for Colombia would, he felt, have been incapable of quelling her masterful aunt so very decisively and with such an economy of words. It suggested previous warfare, in which the elder woman had been subdued to a point where a mere exclamation could pull her up when she forgot herself.
Kirk felt uncomfortable. He did not like these sudden discoveries about Ruth.
“I will explain to Kirk,” she said. “You go up and see that everything is right in the nursery.”
And—amazing spectacle!—off went Mrs. Porter without another word.
Ruth put her arm in Kirk’s and led him off to the smoking-room.
“You may smoke a cigar while I tell you all about Bill,” she said.
Kirk lit a cigar, bewildered. It is always unpleasant to be the person to whom things have to be explained.
“Poor old boy,” Ruth went on, “you certainly are thin. But about Bill. I am afraid you are going to be a little upset about Bill, Kirk. Aunt Lora has no tact, and she will make a speech on every possible occasion; but she was right just now. It really was rather dangerous, picking Bill up like that and kissing him.”
Kirk stared.
“I don’t understand. Did you expect me to wave my hand to him? Or would it have been more correct to bow?”
“Don’t be so satirical, Kirk; you wither me. No, seriously, you really mustn’t kiss Bill. I never do. Nobody does.”
“What!”
“I dare say it sounds ridiculous to you, but you were not here when he was so ill and nearly died. You remember what I was telling you at the dock? About giving Whiskers away? Well, this is all part of it. After what happened I feel, like Aunt Lora, that we simply can’t take too many precautions. You saw his nursery. Well, it would be simply a waste of money giving him a nursery like that if he was allowed to be exposed to infection when he was out of it.”
“And I am supposed to be infectious?”
“Not more than anybody else. There’s no need to be hurt about it. It’s just as much a sacrifice for me.”
“So nobody makes a fuss over Bill now—is that it?”
“Well, no. Not in the way you mean.”
“Pretty dreary outlook for the kid, isn’t it?”
“It’s all for his good.”
“What a ghastly expression!”
Ruth left her chair and came and sat on the arm of Kirk’s. She ruffled his hair lightly with the tips of her fingers. Kirk, who had been disposed to be militant, softened instantly. The action brought back a flood of memories. It conjured up recollections of peaceful evenings in the old studio, for this had been a favourite habit of Ruth’s. It made him feel that he loved her more than he had ever done in his life; and—incidentally—t hat he was a brute to try and thwart her in anything whatsoever.
“I know it’s horrid for you, dear old boy,” said Ruth coaxingly; “but do be good and not make a fuss about it. Not kissing Bill doesn’t mean that you need be any the less fond of him. I know it will be strange at first—I didn’t get used to it for ever so long—but, honestly, it is for his good, however ghastly the expression of the thing may sound.”
“It’s treating the kid like a wretched invalid,” grumbled Kirk.
“You wait till you see him playing, and then you’ll know if he’s a wretched invalid or not!”
“May I see him playing?”
“Don’t be silly. Of course.”
“I thought I had better ask. Being the perambulating plague-spot I am, I was not taking any risks.”
“How horribly self-centred you are! You will talk as if you were in some special sort of quarantine. I keep on telling you it’s the same for all of us.”
“I suppose when I’m with him I shall have to be sterilized?”
“I don’t think it necessary myself, but Aunt Lora does, so it’s always done. It humours her, and it really isn’t any trouble. Besides, it may be necessary after all. One never knows, and it’s best to be on the safe side.”
Kirk laid down his cigar firmly, the cold cigar which stress of emotion had made him forget to keep alight.
“Ruth, old girl,” he said earnestly, “this is pure lunacy.”
Ruth’s fingers wandered idly through his hair. She did not speak for some moments.
“You will be good about it, won’t you, Kirk dear?” she said at last.
It is curious what a large part hair and its treatment may play in the undoing of strong men. The case of Samson may be recalled in this connection. Kirk, with Ruth ruffling the wiry growth that hid his scalp, was incapable of serious opposition. He tried to be morose and resolute, but failed miserably.
“Oh, very well,” he grunted.
“That’s a good boy. And you promise you won’t go hugging Bill again?”
“Very well.”
“There’s an angel for you. Now I’ll fix you a cocktail as a reward.”
“Well, mind you sterilize it carefully.”
Ruth laughed. Having gained her point she could afford to. She made the cocktail and brought it to him.
“And now I’ll be off and dress, and then you can take me out to lunch somewhere.”
“Aren’t you dressed?”
“My goodness, no. Not for going to restaurants. You forget that I’m one of the idle rich now. I spend my whole day putting on different kinds of clothes. I’ve a position to keep up now, Mr. Winfield.”
Kirk lit a fresh cigar and sat thinking. The old feeling of desolation which had attacked him as he came up the bay had returned. He felt like a stranger in a strange world. Life was not the same. Ruth was not the same. Nothing was the same.
The more he contemplated the new regulations affecting Bill the chillier and more unfriendly did they seem to
