"GeorgeGissing-ThePayingGuest" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gissing George)

The Paying Guest
George Gissing

CHAPTER I
It was Mumford who saw the advertisement and made the suggestion. His wife gave
him a startled look.
'But — you don't mean that it's necessary? Have we been extrav——'
'No, no! Nothing of the kind. It just occurred to me that some such arrangement
might be pleasant for you. You must feel lonely, now and then, during the day,
and as we have plenty of room——'
Emmeline took the matter seriously, but, being a young woman of some discretion,
did not voice all her thoughts. The rent was heavy: so was the cost of
Clarence's season-ticket. Against this they had set the advantage of the fine
air of Sutton, so good for the child and for the mother, both vastly better in
health since they quitted London. Moreover, the remoteness of their friends
favoured economy; they could easily decline invitations, and need not often
issue them. They had a valid excuse for avoiding public entertainments — an
expense so often imposed by mere fashion. The house was roomy, the garden
delightful. Clarence, good fellow, might be sincere in his wish for her to have
companionship; at the same time, this advertisement had probably appealed to him
in another way.
'A YOUNG LADY desires to find a home with respectable, well-connected family, in
a suburb of London, or not more than 15 miles from Charing Cross. Can give
excellent references. Terms not so much a consideration as comfort and pleasant
society. No boarding-house. — Address: Louise, Messrs. Higgins Co., Fenchurch
St., E.C.'
She read it again and again. 'It wouldn't be nice if people said that we were
taking lodgers.'
'No fear of that. This is evidently some well-to-do person. It's a very common
arrangement nowadays, you know; they are called "paying guests." Of course I
shouldn't dream of having anyone you didn't thoroughly like the look of.'
'Do you think,' asked Emmeline doubtfully, 'that we should quite do?
"Well-connected family"——'
'My dear girl! Surely we have nothing to be ashamed of?'
'Of course not, Clarence. But — and "pleasant society." What about that?'
'Your society is pleasant enough, I hope,' answered Mumford, gracefully. 'And
the Fentimans——'
This was the only family with whom they were intimate at Sutton. Nice people; a
trifle sober, perhaps, and not in conspicuously flourishing circumstances; but
perfectly presentable.
'I'm afraid—' murmured Emmeline, and stopped short. 'As you say,' she added
presently, 'this is someone very well off. "Terms not so much a
consideration"——'
'Well, I tell you what — there can be no harm in dropping a note. The kind of
note that commits one to nothing, you know. Shall I write it, or will you?'
They concocted it together, and the rough draft was copied by Emmeline. She
wrote a very pretty hand, and had no difficulty whatever about punctuation. A
careful letter, calculated for the eye of refinement; it supplied only the
indispensable details of the writer's position, and left terms for future
adjustment.