Then Jack, speaking
rather breathlessly, asked an odd question:--
"You knew Crofton very well, didn't you, Godfrey? What kind of a chap was
he?"
He brought out the question with an effort. But he did so want to know!
For the first time in his self-confident, comfortable, young life Jack
Tosswill was in love and full of painful, poignant, retrospective
jealousy.
Radmore looked away, instinctively. "I liked Colonel Crofton, I always
got on with him--but he was not popular. He was not at all happy when I
knew him, and unhappy people are rarely popular."
He was wondering whether he had better say anything to Jack--whether the
favour he had just done him gave him the right to speak.
"I suppose he was at least thirty years older than Mrs. Crofton?"
Radmore nodded, and then they neither spoke for a few moments. Each was
waiting for the other to say something, and at last Jack asked another
question.
"They didn't get on very well together, did they?"
"When I first knew them they seemed to be all right. But he was very
jealous of her, and he had cause to be, for most of the fellows out there
were in love with her, and well, not to put too fine a point on it, she
liked it!" He hesitated.
Pages:
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341