“Certainly—I quite understand"...
“Mrs. Leroux will engage you this afternoon—her
husband is a mere cipher in the household—and
you will commence your duties on Monday. Later
in the week, Wednesday or Thursday, we will meet by
appointment, and discuss further details.”
“Where can I see you?”
“Ring up this number: 18642 East, and ask
for Mr. King. No! don’t write it down;
remember it! I will come to the telephone, and
arrange a meeting.”
Shortly after this, then, the interview concluded;
and later in the afternoon of that day Mr. Soames
presented himself at Palace Mansions.
He was received by Mrs. Leroux—a pretty
woman with a pathetically weak mouth. She had
fair hair, not very abundant, and large eyes; which,
since they exhibited the unusual phenomenon, in a blonde,
of long dark lashes (Mr. Soames judged their blackness
to be natural), would have been beautiful had they
not been of too light a color, too small in the pupils,
and utterly expressionless. Indeed, her whole
face lacked color, as did her personality, and the
exquisite tea-gown which she wore conveyed that odd
impression of slovenliness, which is often an indication
of secret vice. She was quite young and indisputably
pretty, but this malproprete, together with a certain
aimlessness of manner, struck an incongruous note;
for essentially she was of a type which for its complement
needs vivacity.
Mr. Soames, a man of experience, scented an intrigue
and a neglectful husband. Since he was engaged
on the spot without reference to the invisible Leroux,
he was immediately confirmed in the latter part of
his surmise. He departed well satisfied with his
affairs, and with the promise of the future, over
which Mr. Gianapolis, the cherubic, radiantly presided.
THE DRAFT ON PARIS
For close upon a month Soames performed the duties
imposed upon him in the household of Henry Leroux.
He was unable to discover, despite a careful course
of inquiry from the cook and the housemaid, that Mrs.
Leroux frequently absented herself. But the servants
were newly engaged, for the flat in Palace Mansions
had only recently been leased by the Leroux.
He gathered that they had formerly lived much abroad,
and that their marriage had taken place in Paris.
Mrs. Leroux had been to visit a friend in the French
capital once, he understood, since the housemaid had
been in her employ.
The mistress (said the housemaid) did not care twopence-ha’penny
for her husband; she had married him for his money,
and for nothing else. She had had an earlier
love (declared the cook) and was pining away to a
mere shadow because of her painful memories. During
the last six months (the period of the cook’s
service) Mrs. Leroux had altered out of all recognition.
The cook was of opinion that she drank secretly.
Of Mr. Leroux, Soames formed the poorest opinion.
He counted him a spiritless being, whose world was
bounded by his book-shelves, and whose wife would
be a fool if she did not avail herself of the liberty
which his neglect invited her to enjoy. Soames
felt himself, not a snake in the grass, but a benefactor—a
friend in need—a champion come to the defense
of an unhappy and persecuted woman.
