i 51ddca29df3edad1 by Unknown Page B

Day or Boxing Day, only that he had made his peace with Gail. She had 'come into the room several times and stood at the foot of the bed and asked politely, "How do you feel now, Dad?" until he had made the effort to put out his clammy hands to her and croak, "Come here." And when she had stood at the bedside he had said, "I'm sorry, pet. I'm sorry," and she had answered without her usual gusto, "It's all right, Dad." He had moved his throbbing head slowly and said, "No, I was rough with you but ...
    but I felt ill, more so than I do now; I'd ... I'd had a trying day, and the snow."
    "It's all right, Dad," she had answered, and again he had moved his head. Then pulling her down to the side of the bed he had whispered,
    "Listen, pet. If ever again I'm bad-tempered and beastly take no notice, just tell yourself that I love you better than anyone else in the whole wide world, will you?"
    On this she returned to the daughter he knew and she threw herself on his neck, crying, "Oh, Dad 1 Dad I' " There now. There now. Look, you'll catch this cold. But remember what I. said. "
    She had lifted her head and looked at him and dropped it to one side, saying, "You never could be bad tempered or beastly, not you. "
    "I was last night."
    "It wasn't you, it was the flu."
    "Get up out of that, child!" Do you want it too? " Esther's command had brought Gail to her feet, but she had smiled lovingly at him before leaving the room.
    After this little incident he let himself dissolve into the sweating depths created by a hundred and four temperature.
    But now the time of the respite was over and Esther was at the door to see him off, driving in her father's cast-off Jaguar. Under other circumstances he would have got a thrill out of driving the Jaguar.
    Who wouldn't? But passed over as it had been, almost in the nature of a gift, the joy of possession was tainted somewhat. He knew that his father-in-law wouldn't have let him have a smell of the car if it hadn't been that he wanted to please Esther. That was the only good point in his father-in-law's favour; his constant aim to please his daughter.
    But the business of the car. was not really bothering him at the moment. What was tensing the muscles of his stomach and bringing his jaw rigid was the uncertainty of what attitude Miss Betty Ray would take towards him. Remembering her brashness he shivered with apprehension.
    But he needn't have worried. After Mr. Hogg had greeted him warmly there came the chorus of, "Good morning. Nice to see you back, Mr.
    Blenheim. You feeling better?" To all of which he had said, "Yes, yes, thank you very much." And then he was passing the window of the typing pool, and the girls inside, having heard the chatter in the hallway, all had their faces turned towards him, and they smiled at him. And among the smiling faces was Betty Ray's. He did not let his eyes linger on her but nodded through the glass to them as a whole.
    Then he was in his office and Ada Cole was taking his coat and saying,
    "Oh, I am glad to see you back, Mr. Blenheim."
    "Thanks, Ada."
    "Sure you're feeling fit now?"
    "Fit as a fiddle, Ada. Well'--he paused--'not quite. Let us say, I don't feel like dying any longer." ^ Her round face smiling, she looked at him kindly, saying, "It's an awful thing, flu. It gets you down. It's left its mark on you; you've lost weight, and your tan's gone."
    "Tan? I never knew I had a tan, Ada."
    "Oh, well, you know what I mean, you were a bit brow ny
    "Well I suppose the snow bleached me."
    "Eeh I it did that. Wasn't it dreadful? A number of old people in the town died, and no wonder. We've never had anything like it for years;
    and we don't want it again, do we? "
    "No, Ada." He took his seat behind the desk, drew in a deep breath, then asked, "Anything new?"
    "One or two small jobs have been completed. Bradley's doing the alterations in Temple Street and Kershaw has finished the Council job.
    There have been some enquiries in, estimations . And Halliday, you