As a matter of fact, she
considered this quite unnecessary, for she felt sure that he was
either suffering the customary after-effects of a visit to the
city or else that he lacked the moral courage to undertake an
explanation of his hurried flight from the ranch. In either event
she was glad he kept to his room.
Heretofore their formal relations had made life at least tolerable
to Alaire, but now she experienced a feeling of guilt at finding
herself under the same roof with him. Oddly enough, it seemed to
her that in this she wronged Dave and not her husband; for she
reasoned that, having given her love to one man, her presence in
the same house with another outraged that love.
When Austin made his appearance, on the day following his return,
his bleared eyes, his puffy, pasty cheeks, his shattered nerves,
showed plainly enough how he had spent his time. Although he was
jumpy and irritable, he seemed determined by an assumption of high
spirits and exaggerated friendliness to avert criticism. Since
Alaire spared him all reproaches, his efforts seemed to meet with
admirable success. Now Ed's opinion of women was not high, for
those with whom he habitually associated were of small
intelligence; and, seeing that his wife continued to manifest a
complete indifference to his past actions, he decided that his
apprehensions had been groundless.
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