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Contents. Chapter I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV. (etext transcriber's note) |
THE SILVER FOX
THE SILVER FOX
BY
MARTIN ROSS AND E. Œ. SOMERVILLE
AUTHORS OF “AN IRISH COUSIN,” “NABOTH’S VINEYARD,”
“THE REAL CHARLOTTE,” ETC.
LONDON
LAWRENCE AND BULLEN, Ltd.
16 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.
1898{1}
SILVER FOX
CHAPTER I
Lady Susan had never been so hungry in her life. So, for the sixth time,she declared between loud and unbridled yawns. She worked her chairacross the parquet towards the fire-place, dragging the hearthrug intofolds in her progress, and put her large and well-shod feet on thefender.
“What a beast of a fire! When you’ve quite done with it, Bunny, Ishouldn’t mind seeing it just the same. You are a selfish thing!”
In obedience to this rebuke Major Bunbury moved an inch or two to oneside.
“I’m not as selfish as you are,” he said,{2} with agreeable simplicity.“Miss Morris can’t see anything but your boots.”
“Oh, she likes seeing boots,” replied Lady Susan, establishing one onthe hob. “They don’t have ’em in Ireland, do they, Slaney!”
It was obviously the moment for Miss Morris to say something brilliant,but she let the opportunity slip. Perhaps she was hampered by theconsciousness that her boots had been made in an Irish country town. Shegot red. She did not know that it was becoming to her to get red.Finding no more appropriate retort, she laughed, and pushing back herchair, walked over to the window. What she looked out on was the lawn atHurlingham, covered smoothly and desolately with snow; a line ofhuddled, white hummocks of ice, moving very slowly across the middledistance, represented the River Thames; down to the right, five or sixskaters glided on the black and serpentine curves of a little lake—theylooked like marionettes sliding{3} along a wire. Even at that distancethey seemed to Slaney over-dressed and artificial. No doubt they werescreaming inanities to each other, as were these other English idiots inthe room behind her. How ineffably stupid they were, and how shy andprovincial they made her feel! How could Hugh have married into such apack?
One of the double d