A Husband by Proxy | Page 9

said, this time without extending his hand. "I
beg to impress upon both you and Mr. Robinson that, such as I am,
Dorothy chose me of her own free will to occupy my present position."
Mrs. Robinson was momentarily speechless. Her husband now stood in
the door.
Dorothy shot Garrison a look of gratitude, but her immediate desire
was for peace.
"Let us all sit down, and try to get better acquainted," she said. "I'm

sure we shall all be friends."
"No doubt," said her uncle somewhat offensively.
Garrison felt himself decidedly uncertain of his ground. There was
nothing to do, however, but await developments. He looked about the
room in a quick, comprehensive manner.
It was a large apartment, furnished handsomely, perhaps even richly,
but in a style no longer modern, save for the installation of electric
lights. It contained a piano, a fireplace, a cabinet, writing-desk, two
settees, and the customary complement of chairs.
The pictures on the walls were rather above the average, even in the
homes of the wealthy. The objects of art, disposed in suitable places,
were all in good taste and expensive.
Quite at a loss to meet these people to advantage, uninformed as he was
of anything vital concerning Dorothy and the game she might be
playing, Garrison was rendered particularly alert by the feeling of
constraint in the air. He had instantly conceived a high appreciation for
Dorothy's art in her difficult position, and he rose to a comprehension
of the rôle assigned to himself.
He had earlier determined to appear affectionate; he now saw the need
of enacting the part of protector.
In the full illumination of the room, the glory of Dorothy's beauty was
startling. His eyes sought her face with no need of acting, and the
admiration blazing in his gaze was more than genuine; it was
thoroughly spontaneous and involuntary.
The moment was awkward and fraught with suspense for Garrison, as
he found himself subjected to the flagrantly unfriendly appraisement of
his newly acquired relations.
Aunt Jill had been wilted for a moment only. She looked their visitor
over with undisguised contempt.

"Well, I dare say you look respectable and healthy," she said, as if
conceding a point with no little reluctance, "but appearances are very
deceiving."
"Thank you," said Garrison. He sat down near Dorothy, occupying a
small settee.
If Mrs. Robinson was personally pugnacious, her husband harbored far
more vicious emotions. Garrison felt this in his manner. The man was
looking at him narrowly.
"How much of your time have you spent with your wife since your
marriage?" he demanded, without the slightest preliminary introduction
to the subject.
Garrison realized at once that Dorothy might have prepared a harmless
fiction with which his answers might not correspond. He assumed a
calm and deliberation he was far from feeling, as he said:
"I was not aware that I should be obliged to account to anyone save
Dorothy for my goings and comings. Up to the present I believe she has
been quite well satisfied with my deportment; haven't you, Dorothy?"
"Perfectly," said Dorothy, whose utterance was perhaps a trifle faint.
"Can't we all be friends--and talk about----"
"I prefer to talk about this for a moment," interrupted her uncle, still
regarding Garrison with the closest scrutiny. "What's your business,
anyway, Mr. Fairfax?"
Garrison, adhering to a policy of telling the truth with the greatest
possible frequency, and aware that evasion would avail them nothing,
waited the fraction of a minute for Dorothy to speak. She was silent. He
felt she had not committed herself or him upon the subject.
"I am engaged at present in some insurance business," he said. "It will
take me out of town to-night, and keep me away for a somewhat
indefinite period."

"H'm!" said Mr. Robinson. "I suppose you'll quit your present
employment pretty soon?"
With no possible chance of comprehending the drift of inquiry,
Garrison responded:
"Possibly."
"I thought so!" exclaimed the old man, with unconcealed asperity.
"Marrying for money is much more remunerative, hey?"
"Oh, uncle!" said Dorothy. Her pain and surprise were quite genuine.
Garrison colored instantly.
He might have been hopelessly floundering in a moment had not a
natural indignation risen in his blood.
"Please remember that up to this evening you and I have been absolute
strangers," he said, with some heat. "I am not the kind to marry for
money. Had I done so I should not continue in my present calling for a
very modest compensation."
He felt that Dorothy might misunderstand or even doubt his resolution
to go on with her requirements. He added pointedly:
"I have undertaken certain assignments for my present employers
which I mean to put through to the end, and no one aware of my
motives could charge me with anything sordid."
Dorothy