Their Child Author:Robert Herrick Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: VII Ilaf i" There was a note of dread in her voice, which arrested the man's footsteps. " What ?" he asked curtly. " You will not leave me, now ! You... more » are not going away ?" "You can't want me around much, after last night," he answered hesitatingly. " What do you mean ?" she asked quickly, a flush coming to her face. " There's no use of going over it, is there ? I began to drink, of course, because I was so damned blue about the boy and you. It seemed as if everything was helplessly mixed up, and there was no way of straightening it out. After all the fight I made to be something, and to win you, and to give you a good place in the world, — all that was suddenly smashed. I couldn't stand sitting there and thinking of nothing but that. And when I looked about at those folks, and saw how gay and lively and light- hearted they were, I said to myself: ' Why haven't I a right to a good time, too ? What's the use of mulling over this black stuff in my mind ?' But I couldn't make a big enough effort to keep away from it! I kept on thinking of you and little Oscar, with all those gay people talking and laughing and handsome women. ' My God,' I said to myself, ' if I can't stop thinking of this, I shall have to get up and go outside.' So I took up my glass of champagne, which I hadn't touched, — never drink it, as you remember; it was the stuff old Oscar used to start in with when he was on a blow-out — that is why I never could bear it. "That first glass made everything easier and more natural. It untied the knots in my face. And another made things pleasant; well, there's no use in going on ! I made a beastly fool of myself, sang that fool song, disgraced you before all your friends. Showed them how you had married just a hand out of the mines! My God, I should thi...« less