"Benson, Edward Frederic - The Blotting Book" - читать интересную книгу автора (Benson Edward Frederic)

comely, and his rather bald head beamed with benevolence and dinner.
"My dear boy," he said, "and it is your birthdayЧ I cannot honour either you or
this wonderful port more properly than by drinking your health in it."
He began and finished his glass to the health he had so neatly proposed, and
Morris laughed.
"Thank you very much," he said. "Mother, do send the port round. What an
inhospitable woman!"
Mrs. Assheton rose.
"I will leave you to be more hospitable than me, then, dear," she said. "Shall
we go, Madge? Indeed, I am afraid you must, if you are to catch the train to
Falmer."
Madge Templeton got up with her hostess, and the two men rose too. She had been
sitting next Morris, and the boy looked at her eagerly.
"It 's too bad, your having to go," he said. "But do you think I may come over
to-morrow, in the afternoon some time, and see you and Lady Templeton?"
Madge paused a moment.
"I am so sorry," she said, "but we shall be away all day. We shan't be back till
quite late."
"Oh, what a bore," said he, "and I leave again on Friday. Do let me come and see
you off then."
But Mrs. Assheton interposed.
"No, dear," she said, "I am going to have five minutes' talk with Madge before
she goes and we don't want you. Look after Mr. Taynton. I know he wants to talk
to you and I want to talk to Madge."



Mr. Taynton, when the door had closed behind the ladies, sat down again with a
rather obvious air of proposing to enjoy himself. It was quite true that he had
a few pleasant things to say to Morris, it is also true that he immensely
appreciated the wonderful port which glowed, ruby-like, in the nearly full
decanter that lay to his hand. And, above all, he, with his busy life, occupied
for the most part in innumerable small affairs, revelled in the sense of leisure
and serene smoothness which permeated Mrs. Assheton's house. He was still a year
or two short of sixty, and but for his very bald and shining head would have
seemed younger, so fresh was he in complexion, so active, despite a certain
reassuring corpulency, was he in his movements. But when he dined quietly like
this, at Mrs. Assheton's, he would willingly have sacrificed the next five years
of his life if he could have been assured on really reliable authorityЧ the
authority for instance of the Recording AngelЧ that in five years time he would
be able to sit quiet and not work any more. He wanted very much to be able to
take a passive instead of an active interest in life, and this a few hundreds of
pounds a year in addition to his savings would enable him to do. He saw, in
fact, the goal arrived at which he would be able to sit still and wait with
serenity and calmness for the event which would certainly relieve him of all
further material anxieties. His very active life, the activities of which were
so largely benevolent, had at the expiration of fifty-eight years a little tired
him. He coveted the leisure which was so nearly his.
Morris lit a cigarette for himself, having previously passed the wine to Mr.
Taynton.