Page:The Other House (London, William Heinemann, 1896), Volume 1.djvu/215

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THE OTHER HOUSE
201

Tony listened with marked attention, but without meeting his companion's eyes. He had again seated himself in the hammock, with his feet on the ground and his head thrown back; and he smoked freely, holding it with either hand. "What is he giving her?" he asked after a moment.

Rose turned away; she mechanically did something at the table. "Shouldn't you think she'd show it to you?" she threw over her shoulder.

While this shoulder, sensibly cold for the instant, was presented, he watched her. "I daresay—if she accepts it."

The girl faced him again. "And won't she accept it?"

"Only—I should say—if she accepts him."

"And won't she do that?"

Tony made a "ring" with his cigarette. "The thing will be for him to get her to."

"That's exactly," said Rose, "what I want you to do."

"Me?" He now stared at her. "How can I?"

"I won't undertake to tell you how—I'll leave that to your ingenuity. Wouldn't it be a matter—just an easy extension—of existing relations? You