Page 380 - tender-is-the-night

takes a bath every evening and to-night he took his bath
just before mine and I had to take mine in his water, and it
was dirty.’
‘What? Now what?’
‘I saw them take Tony out of it, and then they called me
into it and the water was dirty.’
‘But—did you take it?’
‘Yes, Mother.’
‘Heavens!’ she exclaimed to Dick.
He demanded: ‘Why didn’t Lucienne draw your bath?’
‘Lucienne can’t. It’s a funny heater—it reached out of it-
self and burned her arm last night and she’s afraid of it, so
one of those two women—‘
‘You go in this bathroom and take a bath now.’
‘Don’t say I told you,’ said Lanier from the doorway.
Dick went in and sprinkled the tub with sulphur; closing
the door he said to Nicole:
‘Either we speak to Mary or we’d better get out.’
She agreed and he continued: ‘People think their chil-
dren are constitutionally cleaner than other people’s, and
their diseases are less contagious.’
Dick came in and helped himself from the decanter,
chewing a biscuit savagely in the rhythm of the pouring wa-
ter in the bathroom.
‘Tell Lucienne that she’s got to learn about the heater—‘
he suggested. At that moment the Asiatic woman came in
person to the door.
‘El Contessa—‘
Dick beckoned her inside and closed the door.

380 Tender is the Night