He stopped. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

"Huh?" said Arthur again.

"Hey, I don't want to be hard for you. James continued, and seeing Arthur's tired, desperate look, he involuntarily softened his tone. "I am glad to believe that you have been led astray by bad companions, because of your young age, your lack of experience, and—uh—recklessness, and—uh—you have a flippant disposition, which I fear I inherited from your mother. ”

Arthur's gaze slowly shifted to the portrait of his mother, then retracted his gaze, but he did not speak.

"But I'm sure you'll understand," continued James, "that we are a respected family, and it is absolutely impossible for me to take in a man who would be humiliated in public. ”

"Huh?" Arthur repeated.

"Very well," Julia snapped. She snapped the fan shut and placed it on her lap. "Arthur, can't you just do something but 'um' and say something?"

"Of course, you can do whatever you think fits. He said slowly, his body motionless. "It doesn't matter one way or another. ”

"No—relationship?" repeated James, stunned. His wife laughed and stood up.

"Oh, that's okay, isn't it? Well, James, I hope you now understand how much you can expect from this man. I told you that kindness is not rewarded, to a female Catholic who opportunistically drilled and their—"

"Shhhh

"Stop talking nonsense, James. Don't be emotional, we've had enough! A son of evil is a member of this family -- he should know what his mother is! Why should we afford a child raised by a Catholic priest in a whim? Here, look!"

She pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket and threw it across the table towards Arthur. Arthur spread it out, and the writing on it was her mother's handwriting, signed four months before he was born. It was a confession to her husband with two signatures.

Arthur's gaze slowly moved to the lower end of the paper, bypassing the scribbled letters that spelled her name to the sturdy yet familiar signature: "Lorenzo Montagneri." He stared at the confession for a long time. Then, without saying a word, he folded the piece of paper and put it down. James stood up and grabbed his wife.

"Alright, Julia, that's it. Now let's go downstairs. It's getting late, and I'd like to talk to Arthur about something small. You won't be interested. ”

She looked up at her husband, then at Arthur. Arthur was staring silently at the floor.

"I think he's a little stupid. She whispered.

As she lifted the hem of her skirt and walked out of the room, James cautiously closed the door and walked back to his chair at the table. Arthur still sat there, motionless and silent.

"Arthur. James said gently, and now that Julia was no longer here, she couldn't hear what she said. "I'm very sorry that things have come to this point.

Maybe you still don't know it's better. But that's all in the past. I am glad that you have shown such restraint. Julia has -- a little excited, women always -- anyway I don't want to be too hard for you. ”

He pauses to see what effect his kind words have. But Arthur remained unmoved.

"Of course, my dear child," continued James after a pause, "such a thing is unpleasant to everyone, and we can only remain silent about it.

My father was very generous and did not divorce her after she admitted to losing her life. He simply demanded that the man who had seduced her go astray should leave the country immediately. As you know, he went to China as a missionary. As far as I'm concerned, I'm against you associating with him when he returns. But my father finally agreed to let him teach you, on the condition that he never try to visit your mother. To be fair, I must admit that they both faithfully fulfilled this condition all along. It's a shameful thing, but—"

Arthur looked up. His face had lost all life and expression, and it looked like a wax mask.

"You—don't you think," he whispered, strangely stumbling and stuttering, "this—this—everything—non, very—funny?"

"Funny?" James moved his chair away from the table and sat there staring at him. He was too frightened to get angry. "Funny? Arthur, are you crazy?"

Arthur suddenly threw his head back and burst into a nervous laugh.

"Arthur!" cried the shipping boss, raising his voice in anger, "I am surprised that you are so frivolous. ”

There was no answer, just one laugh after another, laughing so loud and so powerful that James began to wonder if there was anything more serious here than frivolity.

"Live like a hysterical woman. He muttered, then turned away, shrugged his shoulders disdainfully, and paced impatiently around the room. "Really, Arthur, you're worse than Julia. Okay, stop laughing! I can't wait here all night. ”

He might as well have asked the cross to come down from the pedestal. Arthur no longer had any scruples about protesting or exhorting, he just laughed out loud and laughed.

"How can that be!" said James, who at last stopped pacing in a rage. "You're obviously overly agitated and have lost your mind tonight. If you go on like this, I won't be able to talk to you. Come to me tomorrow morning after breakfast.

Now you'd better go to bed. Good night. ”

He walked out and closed the door casually. "Now I have to face the hysterical man downstairs. He muttered, and walked away with heavy steps.

"I think I'm going to cry again!"

Crazy laughter disappeared from Arthur's lips. He grabbed the hammer from the table and threw himself at the cross.

With a loud bang, he suddenly came to his senses. He stood in front of the empty pedestal, still holding a hammer in his hand, broken statues scattered at his feet.

He threw down the hammer. "It's so easy!" he said, turning away. "I'm such an idiot!"

He sat at the table, panting, his forehead resting in his hands. He then stood up, walked over to the sink, and poured a pot of cold water over his head. He walked back, calm, and sat down to think about it.