All I hoped was that he did not intend to bore me with frequent repetitions of this call. I had better use for my evenings than such waste of time as chatting with him. I cast about me for some suitable excuse to shut off future inflictions, and at last hit upon one that I thought might answer.
“I suppose I must sacrifice myself for a while,” I said cheerfully; “I have had a deal of business swoop down upon me, and in order to dispatch it, must shut myself up for a time, and forego the joys of society.”
Instantly his old embarrassment came back upon him, as a small boy’s enemy—supposed to be vanquished—darts around the corner, and renews the attack.
He started to go; came back; returned to the door; again came back; colored vividly—looked at me imploringly. And as I looked at him my anger, my coldness—all vanished, and I exclaimed:
“Randolph Chance, why _don’t_ you say it!”
“Some things are awfully hard to say. I can write—— Oh Constance! you might have mercy on me!”
“Well,” I said, laughing—I could almost see the light upon my face—“I suppose you want me to marry you.”
“You can’t get away now!” he cried, a second later.
Now this little scene, I suppose, is what makes Randolph always say I proposed to him. This remark, oft repeated, sometimes under very trying circumstances, is his one disagreeableness. But I let it pass without comment, for I realize it is the spout to the kettle, and I am thankful that the steam has so safe and harmless an outlet. If I were to boil him too hard, he would probably overflow, and dim the fire; but I am _very cautious_, and love still burns with a clear, bright flame.
[Transcriber’s Note: The table below lists all corrections applied to the original text.
p. 032: [removed stray quote] “I didn’t care for this picnic p. 050: [normalized] they were wellnigh exhausted -> well-nigh p. 056: [extra comma] any comment on her neighbors’ affairs, was alien to her. p. 152: Their’s is the place -> Theirs p. 182: [added speaker change] beyond his years. I have never thought p. 187: [normalized] most common-place conversation -> commonplace p. 189: [changed to long dash] I can write—— Oh Constance! ]
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Cook Husbands, by Elizabeth Strong Worthington