Page 142 - tender-is-the-night

mary a while ago and she’s having dinner in her room. I
think this upset all of us, don’t you?’
‘It didn’t upset me,’ he objected. ‘Darling, unless you’re
physically tired let’s do something. Otherwise we’ll get south
and spend a week wondering why we didn’t see Boucher. It’s
better than brooding—‘
This was a blunder and Nicole took him up sharply.
‘Brooding about what?’
‘About Maria Wallis.’
She agreed to go to a play. It was a tradition between
them that they should never be too tired for anything, and
they found it made the days better on the whole and put
the evenings more in order. When, inevitably, their spirits
flagged they shifted the blame to the weariness and fatigue
of others. Before they went out, as fine-looking a couple as
could be found in Paris, they knocked softly at Rosemary’s
door. There was no answer; judging that she was asleep they
walked into a warm strident Paris night, snatching a ver-
mouth and bitters in the shadow by Fouquet’s bar.

142 Tender is the Night