The Stoic

THE STOIC

But here her voice broke off, and James, sensing danger, hung the phone up hurriedly and, seizing his medical kit, went directly to her apartment and knocked at the door. Berenice responded by whispering from behind the door:

«Are you alone, Doctor?»

When he assured her he was alone, she opened the door and he stepped inside.

«What is the matter, Berenice? What is all this?» he asked, almost brusquely, at the same time studying her white face. «Why are you so terrified?»

«Oh, Doctor, I can’t tell you». She was actually trembling with fear. «It’s Mrs. Cowperwood. I saw her here in the hall as I was coming in, and she saw me. Her expression was so savage that I am afraid for Frank. Do you know whether or not she has seen him since I left? I have the feeling that she might have returned to his apartment».

«Certainly, not», said James. «I have just come from there. Frank is all right, quite safe. But here», and taking a few small white pills from his medicine case, he handed her one. «Take this, and don’t say anything more for a few moments. It will quiet your nerves, and then you can tell me all about it». And going toward a sofa, he motioned her to sit beside him. Gradually she showed signs of becoming more quiet. «Now, listen, Berenice», he added, «I know that your situation here is a very difficult one. I have known it ever since you came here, but why are you so wrought up? Do you expect Mrs. Cowperwood to attack you personally?»

«Oh, no, I am not worried about myself», she replied, more calmly. «It’s Frank I’m really worried about. He is so ill and

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so weak and helpless at this time, and I’m afraid that she may say or do things that might hurt him so terribly he would not want to live. And, oh, he has been so liberal and so well-mean- ing toward her. And just now when he needs love, not hate, and after all he has done for her, she is ready to do I don’t know what – abuse him so violently that he may suffer a relapse. He’s told me many times that she always loses control of her emotions when she becomes jealous».

«Yes, I know», said James. «He is a very great man, who has married the wrong woman, and to tell you the truth, I feared something of this kind. I thought it unwise for you to be in the same hotel. However, love is a powerful force, and I saw how deeply you cared for each other when I was in England. But I also knew, as did many people, that his relations with Mrs. Cowperwood were unsatisfactory to him. By the way, did you exchange any words with her?»

«Oh, no», replied Berenice. «I just saw her as I stepped out of the elevator, and her anger and opposition, as she recognized me, were so real that I felt it through my whole body. It came to me that she might do something desperate to both of us, if she could. Besides, I was afraid she might return to his apartment immediately».

At this point Dr. James advised Berenice to stay in her suite until this storm subsided, and to wait until she heard from him. Above all, as he instructed her, she was not to say a word to Cowperwood about this when she saw him again. He was far too ill to endure it. In the meantime, as he patiently explained, he would brave the anger of Mrs. Cowperwood and call her, to determine, if possible, what she might be doing or

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planning to say publicly. And then he left Berenice to go to his own room to think the matter over.

However, before he had time to reach Aileen on the telephone, one of the nurses came into his room to ask if he would not please step in and look at Mr. Cowperwood; he seemed more restless than usual. When he did so, he found Cowperwood stirring around in his bed as though he were uncomfortable. And when he asked him how his visit with Aileen came out, he answered wearily:

«Oh, everything worked out all right, I think. At least, I went over the most important points with her. But somehow, Jeff, I feel very tired and exhausted from our long conversation».

«Well, I expected that. Next time, don’t talk for such a long time. And now here is something for you to take. It will give you a little rest for the present». And with that he handed Cowperwood a powder with a glass of water, which he swallowed as Dr. James added: «Well, that will do for now, and I’ll look in on you a little later this afternoon».

Whereupon he returned to his own room and called Aileen, who by that time had returned home. Upon hearing his name announced by her maid, she came directly to the phone. James, in his most courteous tone, told her he was calling to find out how her visit with her husband had worked out, and asked if there was anything he could do to help her.

Her voice was angry and uncontrolled as she spoke.

«Yes, Dr. James, you can help me very much by not calling me any more, if you please, for I’ve just found out what has been going on all the time – in London and here – between my so-

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called husband and Miss Fleming. I know she has been living with him there and is now living with him under your eyes, and apparently with your aid and approval. And you want to know whether I had a satisfactory interview with him! And that woman hiding in the same hotel! It’s the most outrageous thing I ever heard of, and one which I’m sure the public will be glad to hear about! And it will, depend on that!» And then, her voice almost breaking with rage, she added: «You, a doctor! A man supposed to be concerned with the decencies of life... ».

Whereupon Dr. James, sensing the fierceness of her rage, managed to interrupt her sufficiently to say, forcefully but calmly:

«Mrs. Cowperwood, I beg to take exception to your accusations. I was called in on this case in a professional capacity, not as a judge of situations which are none of my making. And you have no right to judge the motives of a man about whom you know as little as you do about me. Whether you believe it or not, your husband is a very sick man, very, and if you make the grave error of giving out any story to the press, you will be hurting yourself a thousand times more than you could ever hurt him, or anyone connected with him. For he not only has powerful friends, but admirers, as you know – friends who will deeply resent any such action as you propose, and who will not fail him. If he dies, as he well may...

. well, judge for yourself how any such public attack as you have in mind will be received».

These cutting words reminded Aileen of some of her own indiscretions in the not too distant past, and her voice suddenly lost some of its vibrato as she said:

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«I don’t want to discuss any of the personal angles of this matter with you or anyone else, Dr. James, so please, don’t call me again on any matter connected with Mr. Cowperwood, no matter what happens. You have Miss Fleming there to wait on and comfort my husband. Let her take charge, and please don’t call me. I’m tired of the whole wretched relationship. And that’s final, Dr. James». Here the telephone clicked, for she had hung up.

As Dr. James turned away from the phone, his face wore a faint smile. From his long years of professional experience with hysterical women, he knew that the force of her rage had spent itself in the hours since she had seen Berenice. For, after all, as he also knew, this was not a new story to Aileen. And he felt reasonably sure that her vanity would not allow her to give free reign to public utterances. She had not done so in the past and would not do so now, he felt. And with this much assurance, he went to call on and report to Berenice, whom he found still nervous and impatiently waiting to hear from him.

He still smiled as he proceeded to explain that he felt sure that Aileen’s bark was worse than her bite. For although she had threatened him and Cowperwood and Berenice with exposure, still, after his talk with her, he had the definite feeling that her rage had spent itself and that nothing more of a violent nature was likely to occur. Now, he added, since Aileen had declared finally that she proposed never to see her husband again, it looked to him as if he should have to ask Berenice to take charge, and they would, both of them, see if they could not pull him through. She might take the evening nursing shift from four to twelve.

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Chapter 69

Cowperwood’s attempt to clarify for Aileen the significance of the wealth that would be hers at his death, and the necessity on her part for a practical understanding of the problems she would be likely to encounter as its custodian, instead of inducing an atmosphere of tender regard, left him with a sense of the probable futility of it all. And this because of his knowledge of her lack of realization of how important these matters were to him, as well as to her. For he knew well she could not read the characters and intentions of men, and were he no longer here, what assurance could he have of the fulfilment of the various ideals which most of his bequests embodied? And this thought, instead of favorably affecting his mood in regard to living, really discouraged him. So much so that he was not only a little weary, but a little bored and spiritually dubious of the import of life itself.

For how strange the almost unbroken irritability of their lives together, covering, as they did, a period of over thirty years! There was, to begin with, his early enthusiasm for her when she was seventeen and he was twenty-seven, and then a little later his discovery that her beauty and physical strength concealed also a lack of understanding that had kept her unaware of his financial and mental stature, at the same

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time that it caused her to consider that he was an unchanging possession of hers which was not to be modified by so much as a glance in any other direction than that which led to her. And yet, for all the storms that followed his least diversion, here they were, after all these years, with little understanding on her part of the qualities in him which had slowly and yet surely led him to his present wealth.

Even so, he had finally discovered a woman whose temperament made his life supremely worth while. For he had found Berenice, and she had found him. Together they had clarified themselves, each to the other. Her wondrous love shone in her voice, her eyes, her words, her touch. For bending over him from time to time, he could hear her say: «Darling! Beloved! This love of ours is not just for today, it is forever. It will live in you wherever you are, and yours in me. We shall not forget. Darling, rest and be happy».

It was at this point in his meditations that Berenice, clad in the white uniform of a nurse, entered the room. He stirred at the sound of her familiar voice as she greeted him, and gazed as if not fully comprehending what his eyes beheld. Her costume made such an attractive setting for her unusual beauty. With an effort he raised his head, and although obviously very weak, exclaimed:

«You! Aphrodite! Goddess of the sea! Immaculately white!» She bent down and kissed him.

«A goddess!» he murmured. «The golden red of your hair! The blue of your eyes!» And then, pressing her hand, he drew her closer to him. «And now I have you with me. I see you as you beckoned to me that day in Thessalonika by the blue Aegean!»

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«Frank! Frank! If only I were your goddess, forever and ever!»

She knew that he had become delirious, and tried to pacify him.

«That smile», went on Cowperwood. «Smile on me again. It is like sunshine. Hold my hands, my Aphrodite of the Sea!» Berenice sat on the side of the bed and began to cry soft-

ly to herself.

«Aphrodite, don’t ever leave me! I need you so!» and he clung to her.

At this point Dr. James walked into the room, and noting Cowperwood’s condition, went directly to him. Turning and surveying Berenice, he said: «Be proud, my dear! A giant of the world salutes you. But leave us along for a minute or two. I need to restore him. He is not going to die».

She left the room while the doctor administered a restorative. In a few moments, Cowperwood came out of his delirium, for he said: «Where is Berenice?»

«She will be with you in a moment, Frank, only now rest and quiet will be best for you», said James.

But Berenice heard him call her, and came in and sat on a little chair beside his bed, waiting. In a few moments he opened his eyes, and began talking.

«You know, Berenice», he said, as if they had been discussing the matter, «it is so important to keep the mansion intact as a home for my art objects».

«Yes, I know, Frank», replied Berenice, softly and sympathetically. «You have always loved it so».

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«Yes, I have always loved it. To leave the asphalt of Fifth Avenue and in ten seconds, after crossing the threshold, to be within a palm garden, walk through flowers and growing things, sit down among them, hear the plash of water, the tinkle of a rill dropping into the little pool, so that I heard notes of water music, like a brook in the cool greenness of the woods –»

«I know, darling», whispered Berenice. «But now you must rest. I will be right near you even when you sleep. I am your nurse».

And as Berenice went about her duties that night, and on every other night, she was impressed by his unbroken interest in the many affairs which he could no longer possibly manage. One day it was the art gallery, next day the underground, and next, the hospital.

Although she did not actually anticipate it, any more than did Dr. James, Cowperwood had only a very few more days to live. And yet, during such hours as she spent with him, he seemed more cheerful, except that after talking for a moment or two, he now invariably manifested a great weariness and a desire to sleep.

«Let him sleep as much as possible», counseled Dr. James. «He is merely conserving his strength». A statement which discouraged Berenice greatly. So much so that she asked if something more could not be done for him.

«No», replied James. «Sleep is truly the best thing for him, and he may pull through. I am trying the best restoratives I know, but we can only wait. He may take a turn for the better».

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