She heard through him of her brother 'Arry's
disgrace; it scarcely touched her. Her brother Richard she was never
tired of railing against, railed so much, indeed, that it showed she
by no means hated him as much as she declared. But nothing would
have mattered if only her husband had cared for her.
She had once said to Adela that she disliked children and hoped
never to have any. It was now her despair that she remained
childless. Perhaps that was why he had lost all affection?
In the summer Rodman once quitted her for nearly three weeks, during
which she only heard from him once. He was in Ireland, and, he
asserted, on business. The famous 'Irish Dairy Company,' soon to
occupy a share of public attention, was getting itself on foot. It
was Rodman who promoted the company and who became its secretary,
though the name of that functionary in all printed matter appeared
as 'Robert Delancey.' However, I only mention it for the present to
explain our friend's absence in Ireland. Alice often worked herself
up to a pitch of terror lest her husband had fulfilled his threat
and really deserted her. He returned when it suited him to do so,
and tortured her with a story of a wealthy Irish widow who had
fallen desperately in love with him.
'And I've a good mind to marry her,' he added with an air of serious
reflection.
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