Page 436 - tender-is-the-night

He winced, interrupting her.
‘Don’t tell me about it. It doesn’t matter what you do,
only I don’t want to know anything definitely.’
‘There isn’t anything to know.’
‘All right, all right.’ Then as if he had been away a week:
‘How are the children?’
The phone rang in the house.
‘If it’s for me I’m not home,’ said Dick turning away
quickly. ‘I’ve got some things to do over in the work-room.’
Nicole waited till he was out of sight behind the well;
then she went into the house and took up the phone.
‘Nicole, comment vas-tu?’
‘Dick’s home.’
He groaned.
‘Meet me here in Cannes,’ he suggested. ‘I’ve got to talk
to you.’
‘I can’t.’
‘Tell me you love me.’ Without speaking she nodded at
the receiver; he repeated, ‘Tell me you love me.’
‘Oh, I do,’ she assured him. ‘But there’s nothing to be
done right now.’
‘Of course there is,’ he said impatiently. ‘Dick sees it’s
over between you two—it’s obvious he has quit. What does
he expect you to do?’
‘I don’t know. I’ll have to—‘ She stopped herself from
saying ‘—to wait until I can ask Dick,’ and instead finished
with: ‘I’ll write and I’ll phone you to-morrow.’
She wandered about the house rather contentedly, rest-
ing on her achievement. She was a mischief, and that was a

436 Tender is the Night