227 - 228 wivesbehavingbadly

. i thrust the package back at her ." go away . don't come back ."
rose should have obeyed . any reasonable person would have done so . a reasonable person would have seen where the line had been drawn , and that the old loyalties were finally dead .
but she was not prepared to give up ." it's a plant for the garden . he must have ordered it months ago ."
" a plant ? what on earth for ? he rarely went into the garden ."
" you know he was thinking of redoing it . in fact , he was quite excited at the idea ." she pointed to the package ." it deserves a chance , don't you think ?"
" why ?"
" lots of reasons , not least that nathan obviously wanted a rose ."
"it's a rose ?"
" a while one ."
the urge to throw back my head and laugh hysterically at this extra twist of the knife was strong ." i don't know anything about olants ,"
" but i do ,"
it was ridiculous . nathan shoul have been more careful , but then , in conflating his tow wives , he was making a point . or perhaps hew reached a fork in the road where he had been too tired to consult the map ." you want to come in and plant this thing ?"
"well , yes , i don't feel we can waste it , under the circumstrances .'
i thought of all the reasons why i would not want rose to come inside the house , bearing this muddle gilf from nathan .
" i haven't much time ." she shifted the package to her other hand and checked her watch , a plain square cartier that rested on a tanned wrist ." so?"
across the road , mrs . austen was entranced by this dramma on the doorstep . she put down her fork and wiped her hands on her blue and white apron. any minute now , and she would cross the road and push herself onto rose and me .
i stepped aside ." you'd better come in ."