Chapter 92 Chapter 92

The next day is Tuesday.As usual, Philip rushed to catch up with the nine o'clock class after eating two mouthfuls of breakfast.Therefore, he could only greet Mildred in a few words, and had no time to talk.At dusk, when he returned from the hospital to the apartment, he found Mildred sitting by the window, her hands constantly mending his socks. "Why, you're very thrifty," said Philip, beaming. "What have you been doing all day?" "Oh, I gave the room a thorough cleaning and went out for a walk with the baby in my arms." At this moment, Mildred was wearing an old black coat.This is the uniform she wore when she was working in the tea shop. It is old, but it looks more energetic than the silk dress the day before yesterday.The girl was sitting on the floor, her head raised, and she looked at Philip with her big mysterious eyes.She giggled suddenly as Philip crouched down beside her and stroked her bare feet.The setting sun shines in the west, filling the room with strands of soft light.

"It's a real pleasure to come home and see people moving about in the house. A woman, and a child, do adorn the room with life." Philip got back a bottle of Blau's pills from the hospital pharmacy, gave it to Mildred, and told her to take it after every meal.She was used to this medicine, because she had taken it off and on since she was sixteen years old. "Lawson will love your green skin," said Philip. "He will definitely say that your skin is very attractive. But I have been quite worried these days. If your skin doesn't become as rosy as a milkmaid's, I won't feel good for a day.""

"I already feel better." After a simple supper Philip filled his tobacco pouch with tobacco and put on his hat.He usually went to the tavern on Peak Street on Tuesday nights, and tonight he was glad that it was Tuesday again, since Mildred had come to him, because he wanted to take this opportunity to say something to Mildred. De Lide made the relationship between them unmistakable. "Are you going out?" Mildred asked. "Yes, every Tuesday, I always have a night out. See you tomorrow. Good night." Philip always went to the tavern with a sense of excitement.Macalister, a stockbroker with a philosophical mind, was a frequent visitor there, and he would compete with others for everything in the world.Hayward used to go there as long as he was in London, and though he and Macalister hated each other, they, uncharacteristically, met at the tavern every Tuesday evening.Macalister thought Hayward a poor fellow, and sneered at his sentimental temperament; When a masterpiece came out, he always responded with a mocking smile.They both argued fiercely and spoke with weight, which they both admired.By the end of their nightly tavern gatherings, they were usually able to mend their differences, shake hands, and agree that the other was a top-notch talent.That evening Philip found that Lawson was present besides the two of them.As he became more and more acquainted in London, Lawson seldom visited the tavern, as he often ate out in the evenings.The three of them talked and laughed together, and the atmosphere was very good, for Macalister had made for them both extra money on the Stock Exchange, and Hayward and Lawson had fifty pounds each.Fifty pounds was a lot to Lawson, for he was a poor spender of it.By this time, Lawson had reached the stage where he was painting portraits, and was generally concerned by critics, and he also found that there were not a few noble ladies who were more than happy to have him sit up for portraits without paying a penny (whether This was an excellent opportunity for advertising, both for the ladies and for Lawson himself, and it also earned the ladies a reputation as a conservator of the arts).But Lawson seldom found a fool who would pay a large sum of money for Lawson to paint his wife's portrait.Still, Lawson was content.

"It's a wonderful way of earning money, and I never thought of it before," cried Lawson cheerfully. "I don't even have to pay sixpence for it." "My young man, you missed a great opportunity by not being here last Tuesday," Macalister said to Philip. "My God, why don't you write and tell me?" went on Philip. "You know what a hundred pounds will do to me!" "Oh, it's too late for that time. Guys gotta be on the spot. I got the good news last Tuesday and asked them two guys if they wanted to try it too. I bought a thousand shares for them Wednesday morning, The market was bullish in the afternoon, and I hurried out of the stock. I made fifty pounds each for them, and two or three hundred for myself."

Philip was full of jealousy.He had lately sold the last mortgage, which was his entire property, and now had only six hundred pounds in cash.Sometimes Philip felt apprehensive when he thought of the days to come.He'd have two more years to qualify as a doctor, after which he'd have to try and get a job in a hospital, so for at least three years he couldn't expect to make a dime.It is that he cuts down on expenses and lives the most frugal life. At that time, he will only have a hundred pounds on hand at most.The savings of hundreds of pounds is very small, and it will be even more difficult to pass the time in case of illness and unable to earn money or find a job at any time.It was quite a different matter for him, therefore, to play a game of luck.

"Oh, well, don't worry," said Macalister, "the opportunity will come soon. In a few days, the South African country will soon have a sharp rise in stock prices, and then I will definitely keep an eye out for you That's it. Macalister was working on the South African mining stock market at the time, and he used to tell them stories of how he had made a fortune a year or two ago when the stock market was booming. "Okay, don't forget about me next time." They sat around and chatted loudly, and they didn't realize that it was midnight.Philip, who lived furthest away, was the first to leave.If he missed the last tram, he would have to walk, and it would be too late to get back to his apartment.In fact, it was almost half past twelve before he returned to the apartment.When he went upstairs, he was surprised to find Mildred still seated in his easy chair.

"Why haven't you gone to bed yet?" cried Philip. "I am not sleepy." "Even if you are not sleepy, you should go to bed and lie down. This way you can get rest!" She sat motionless in the easy chair.Philip noticed that she had put on the black silk dress again after dinner. "I guess I'll wait for you in case you need to grab something or something." After speaking, Mildred looked straight at him, and a faint smile appeared on her pale lips.Philip himself was not sure whether he understood her.He just felt a little embarrassed, and he seemed to be pretending to be happy and careless.

"It's good of you to do it, but it's too naughty. Go to bed, or I won't be able to get up in the morning." "I don't want to go to bed yet." "Nonsense," said Philip coldly. Mildred got up from the easy chair, sullenly, and went into her bedroom.A smile spread across Philip's face as she heard the heavy locking of the door. The next few days passed without incident.Mildred went with the situation and settled down in this strange environment.She spent the morning at the flats after Philip hurried off to class.They eat very simply.However, she likes to spend a long time in the streets in order to buy some essential groceries.She couldn't eat what she wanted, but nonetheless she made herself a cup of cocoa to drink and some butter and bread to nibble on.After enjoying it, I took the child for a walk on the street in a pram, and then returned to the apartment, spending the rest of the afternoon bored.She was exhausted, but a few light chores were appropriate.Philip left Mildred to pay the rent, and by this she made friends with Philip's formidable landlady, and within a week she was able to tell Philip about the neighbourhood, Learned far more than Philip had known in a year.

"She's a very nice lady," said Mildred to Philip, "like a lady. I told her we were husband and wife." "Do you think it's necessary?" "Well, I must say something to her. Isn't it ridiculous that I live here and I'm not your wife? I don't know what she'll think of me." "I don't think she believes what you're saying at all." "She sure does, I bet. I told her we've been married for two years - you know, I've got to say that because of this kid - only you guys wouldn't believe it because you're a student .So we had to keep it a secret, but now their opinion has changed too, because we're going to go to the seaside with them to cool off."

"You're an old hand at making up wild stories," said Philip. Seeing that Mildred's enthusiasm for lying was still the same, Philip felt a little disgusted in his heart.In the past two years, she hadn't learned any lessons.But in Mildred's presence he merely shrugged his shoulders. "The bottom line," thought Philip, "is that she's had bad luck." It was a beautiful night, cloudless and pleasantly warm, and the people of South London seemed to be in full force, out into the streets.There was an atmosphere about which made the Cockneys fidgety, and which always drove the Cockneys out of the house and into the open air whenever the weather changed suddenly.When Mildred had cleared the table, she went to the window and looked out.The noise from the street rushed towards them, the voices of people calling each other, the whistling of passing vehicles, and the music of a revolving organ in the distance poured into the room through the window and into the ears of the two of them.

"Philip, I reckon you must read to-night, don't you?" Mildred asked Philip, with a look of longing on her face. "I should read. But I don't know why I have to. Hey, do you want me to do something else?" "I'd love to get out and relax. Can't we go ride the tram on top of it?" "up to you." "I'm going to put on my hat now," she said cheerfully. It is impossible for people to stay at home on a night like this.The child had already fallen into a tender dream, and there would be no problem in keeping her at home.Mildred said that she used to leave the baby alone at night when she went out at night, but she never woke up.Mildred was overjoyed when she returned with her hat on.She also seized the time to put some rouge on her face.And Philip thought she was too excited, and two faint flushes rose on her pale cheeks.Philip was really moved to see her childishly happy, and secretly reproached himself for being too hard on her.When she came outside, she laughed happily.As soon as they saw a tram heading towards Westminster Bridge, they jumped on it.With a pipe in his mouth, Philip and Mildred looked out the window at the crowded street.Stores were open, lights were on, and people were scrambling to get groceries for the next day.As the tram passed a vaudeville theater called Canterbury, Mildred cried out impatiently: "Oh, Philip, we must go up there and see, I haven't been to a vaudeville for a long time." "We can't afford front-row seats, you know that." "Oh, I don't care, I'm happy enough with the penthouse." The two of them got off the trolley and walked back the hundred yards to the door of the vaudeville theater.For twelvepence they bought two excellent seats, high up, but by no means the balconies.It was a lucky night for them, there were quite a few empty seats in the theater.Mildred's eyes were smoky, and she was delighted.There was something simple about her which struck Philip.She was an enigma to Philip.There was something about her which still appealed to Philip, and he thought there was much good in her.Mildred had been ill-bred since she was a child, and her life was rough; he also blamed her for many things that even she could not think of.It was his own fault if he demanded from her a virginity which she herself was powerless to give.If she had grown up in another living environment, she might have turned out to be a charming and lovely girl.She couldn't stand the shock of life's great struggle.At this moment, Philip stared at her profile, saw that her mouth was slightly opened, and two faint blushes rose on her cheeks. He thought she looked unexpectedly holy.An irresistible pity welled up in his heart, and he sincerely forgave her for the misery she had caused him.The smog in the theater made Philip's eyes sore, but when he suggested to Mildred to go home, she turned, with an air of supplication, and begged him to stay with her till the end.Philip smiled and agreed.Mildred held Philip's hand until the end of the performance.Mildred had no intention of returning to her apartment when they joined the crowd of audiences out of the theater into the bustling street.So the two of them strolled side by side to Westminster Street and stood there, gazing at the bustling crowd. "I haven't had such a good time in months," said Mildred. Philip was content.He could not help leading Mildred and her daughter to his lodgings for a moment, and now it had become a reality, for which he was full of gratitude to Fortune.It pleased him from the bottom of his heart to see her kindly expressions of gratitude.At last Mildred was tired, and they hopped on a tram and returned to the apartment.It was late at night, and when they stepped off the tram and turned into the street where the apartment was located, the street was empty and deserted.Meanwhile Mildred quietly took Philip's arm. "It's kind of like the old days, Phil," said Mildred. She had never called him Phil before, only Griffiths did, and even now, there was an inexplicable pain in her heart when she heard it.He still remembers the scene when he was heartbroken and wanted to die.At that moment, the excruciating pain was unbearable, and he considered suicide quite seriously.All this seems to be a distant past.When he thought of his past self, he couldn't help but smile.He felt nothing but pity for Mildred at the moment, and nothing else.They came to the apartment.After stepping into the living room, Philip lit the gas lamp casually. "How is the child?" he asked in his mouth. "I'm going to see her now." Mildred returned to the sitting room, and said that the child had been soundly asleep and had not stirred since she had been beaten.This kid is so good!Philip held out his hand to Mildred, and said: "OK, good night." "Are you going to sleep now?" "Quicker. I'm not used to going to bed late these days," replied Philip. Mildred took his hand and squeezed it tightly, looking into his eyes with a smile. "Phil, you asked me to come up here to stay with you that night in that room, and you said you just wanted me to cook for you and stuff, and you didn't want me to do anything else. What. At that moment, what I was thinking was not the same thing as what you thought I was thinking." "Really?" said Philip, taking his hand from Mildred's. "That's what I thought." "Don't be so silly," said Mildred, laughing. Philip shook his head. "I mean it. I would never put any other conditions on your stay here." "Why not?" "I don't think I can do that. I can't explain this kind of thing, but it kind of confuses the whole thing." Mildred shrugged her shoulders. "Well, fine, then do as you please. I'm never going to kneel and beg you for that, though. I'm not that kind of guy!" After finishing speaking, she walked out of the living room and slammed the door behind her behind her.