Page 496 - of-human-bondage-

own recollections the adventures of Mimi and Rodolphe, of
Musette and the rest of them, he poured into Mildred’s ears
a story of poverty made picturesque by song and laughter, of
lawless love made romantic by beauty and youth. He never
attacked her prejudices directly, but sought to combat them
by the suggestion that they were suburban. He never let
himself be disturbed by her inattention, nor irritated by her
indifference. He thought he had bored her. By an effort he
made himself affable and entertaining; he never let himself
be angry, he never asked for anything, he never complained,
he never scolded. When she made engagements and broke
them, he met her next day with a smiling face; when she
excused herself, he said it did not matter. He never let her
see that she pained him. He understood that his passionate
grief had wearied her, and he took care to hide every senti-
ment which could be in the least degree troublesome. He
was heroic.
Though she never mentioned the change, for she did
not take any conscious notice of it, it affected her never-
theless: she became more confidential with him; she took
her little grievances to him, and she always had some griev-
ance against the manageress of the shop, one of her fellow
waitresses, or her aunt; she was talkative enough now, and
though she never said anything that was not trivial Philip
was never tired of listening to her.
‘I like you when you don’t want to make love to me,’ she
told him once.
‘That’s flattering for me,’ he laughed.
She did not realise how her words made his heart sink