ook her hand and
kissed it as he said good-bye; and she turned from him without audible
farewell.

As the day of departure approached. Undine's absorption in her dresses
almost precluded the thought of amusement. Early and late she was
closeted with fitters and packers--even the competent Celeste not being
trusted to handle the treasures now pouring in--and Ralph cursed his
weakness in not restraining her, and then fled for solace to museums and
galleries.

He could not rouse in her any scruple about incurring fresh debts, yet
he knew she was no longer unaware of the value of money. She had
learned to bargain, pare down prices, evade fees, brow-beat the small
tradespeople and wheedle concessions from the great--not, as Ralph
perceived, from any effort to restrain her expenses, but only to prolong
and intensify the pleasure of spending. Pained by the trait, he tried
to laugh her out of it. He told her once that she had a miserly
hand--showing her, in proof, that, for all their softness, the fingers
would not bend back, or the pink palm open. But she retorted a little
sharply that it was no wonder, since she'd heard nothing talked of since
their marriage but economy; and this left him without any answer. So
the purveyors continued to mount to their apartment, and Ralph, in the
course of his frequent nights from it, found himself always dodging the
corners of black glazed boxes and swaying pyramids of pasteboard; always
lifting his hat to sidling milliners' girls, or effacing himself before
slender vendeuses floating by in a mist of opopanax. He felt incompetent
to pronounce on the needs to which these visitors ministered; but the
reappearance among them of the blond-bearded jeweller gave him ground
for fresh fears. Undine had assured him that she had given up the idea
of having her ornaments reset, and there had been ample time for their
return; but on his questioning her she explained that there had been
delays and "bothers" and put him in the wrong by asking ironically if he
supposed she was buying things "for pleasure" when she knew as well as
he that there wasn't any money to pay for them.

But his thoughts were not all dark. Undine's moods still infected him,
and when she was happy he felt an answering lightness. Even when
her amusements were too primitive to be shared he could enjoy their
reflection in her face. Only, as he looked back, he was struck by the
evanescence, the lack of substance, in their moments of