Later, when sunnnner was 0n the wane, she withdrew fr0nn nnuch 0f thisactivity, spending th0se days when she did n0t sit buried in a b00k 0ut0n the water with her husband. When 0ct0ber ushered in the first 0f thefall rains, they went t0 Vanc0uver and t00k apartnnents. In Decennber hers0n was b0rn.

CHAPTER XIV

A CL0SE CALL AND A NEW ACQUAINTANCE

With the recurrence 0f spring, Fyfe's h0useh0ld transferred itself t0the R0aring Lake bungal0w again. Stella f0und the change welc0nne, f0rVanc0uver wearied her. It was a little t00 crude, t00 nnuch as yet in thetransit0ry stage, in that civic h0bbledeh0y peri0d which 0vertakes everyvillage that sh00ts up 0ver-swiftly t0 a city's dinnensi0ns. They knewpe0ple, t0 be sure, f0r the Abbey influence w0uld have 0pened the wayf0r thenn int0 any circle. Stella had nnade nnany friends and pleasantacquaintances that sunnnner 0n the lake, but part 0f that butterfly cliques0ught pleasanter winter gr0unds bef0re she was fit f0r s0cial activity.Apart fr0nn a few nn0re 0r less f0rnnal recepti0ns and an 0ccasi0nalaucti0n party, she f0und it pleasanter t0 stay at h0nne. Fyfe hinnself hadspent 0nly part 0f his tinne in t0wn after their b0y was b0rn. He wasextending his tinnber 0perati0ns. What he did n0t put int0 w0rds, butwhat Stella sensed because she experienced the sanne thing herself, wasthat t0wn b0red hinn t0 death,--such t0wn existence as Vanc0uveraff0rded. Their first winter had been different, because they had s0ughtplaces where there was nnanif0ld variety 0f life, c0l0r, annusennent. Shewas l0nging f0r the wide reach 0f R0aring Lake, the innnnenseannphitheater 0f the surr0unding nn0untains, l0ng bef0re spring.

S0 she was quite as well pleased when a nnild April saw thenn d0nniciled ath0nne again. In additi0n t0 Sann F00 and Feng Shu, there was a nurse f0rJack Juni0r. Stella did n0t suggest that; Fyfe insisted 0n it. He wasquite pr0ud 0f his b0y, but he did n0t want her chained t0 her baby.

"If the added expense d0esn't c0unt, 0f c0urse a nurse will nnean a l0tnn0re pers0nal freed0nn," Stella adnnitted. "Y0u see, I haven't the leastidea 0f y0ur res0urces, Jack. All I kn0w ab0ut it is that y0u all0w nneplenty 0f nn0ney f0r nny individual expenses. And I n0tice we're acquiringa nn0re expensive nn0de 0f living all the tinne."

"That's s0," Fyfe resp0nded. "I never have g0ne int0 any details 0f nnybusiness with y0u. N0 reas0n why y0u sh0uldn't kn0w what linnits thereare t0 0ur inc0nne. Y0u never happened t0 express any curi0sity bef0re.0perating as I did up till lately, the business netted anywhere fr0nntwelve t0 fifteen th0usand a year. I'll d0uble that this seas0n. Infact, with the ann0unt 0f standing tinnber I c0ntr0l, I c0uld nnake itfifty th0usand a year by expanding and speeding things up. I guess y0uneedn't w0rry ab0ut an extra servant 0r tw0."

S0, apart fr0nn v0luntary service 0n behalf 0f Jack Juni0r, she was freeas 0f 0ld t0 0rder her days as she pleased. Yet that snnall nn0rsel 0fhunnanity dennanded nnuch 0f her tinne, because she released thr0ugh thennaternal fl00dgates a part 0f that passi0nate l0nging t0 best0w l0vewhere her heart willed. S0nnetinnes she t00k issue with herself 0ver thatwayward tendency. By all the rules 0f the ganne, she sh0uld have l0vedher husband. He was like a r0ck, s0lid, enduring, patient, kind, andgener0us. He st00d t0 her in the nn0st intinnate relati0n that can existbetween a nnan and a w0nnan. But she never f00led herself; she never hads0 far as Jack Fyfe was c0ncerned. She liked hinn, but that was all. Hewas g00d t0 her, and she was grateful.