There was no trifling with points, or replaying of tricks. The
marriage of kings and queens was solemnized without rejoicing, and
even the parade of a royal sequence brought no flush of triumph to his
cheek, but moved him only to chronicle it in small, precise figures in
a red morocco note-book which he always brought with him for the
purpose.
When Miss Lady came up to the study, after giving Bertie two encores
to "Jack the Giant Killer," she found the men silently absorbed in
their game. Sitting on a hassock at the Doctor's side, she tried to
follow the detailed explanation that he gave during each deal. But the
jargon of "declarations," and "sequences," and "common marriages" soon
grew wearisome, and she found herself idly studying the Doctor's fine,
serious face, and listening for his low, flexible voice which
unconsciously softened when he spoke to her.
In spite of the fact that the study was very warm these sultry
September evenings, and the Doctor's mental strides much too long for
her to keep pace, she nevertheless looked eagerly forward to the hours
spent there. If at times she failed to follow his elucidations, or
grew sleepy reading aloud from some well-thumbed classic, it was not
because her admiration and respect for her husband were lessening.
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