Chapter 7 Chapter VII

If Michael hadn't been mild-tempered, their first year of marriage would have been a hell of a quarrel.Michael's pragmatic mind would have to think of love when he landed a role or was particularly excited about opening night, or after a few glasses of champagne at a fun party.If he has to keep his head clear the next day for a date, or keep his eyes steady for a game of golf, no amount of flattery or seduction will impress him.Julia quarreled wildly with him.She was jealous of his green room club friends, of the various sports games that kept him away from her, and of the boys luncheons he went to under the pretense of having to make friends who might be useful to them.Sometimes when she tried to tear herself up and yell at him, he would sit poised, with his hands folded on his chest and a kind smile on his pretty face, as if she were just being ridiculous on her own. It was the situation that irritated her most.

Do you think I'm chasing other women?he asks. how could I know?Anyway, it's clear you don't think much of me at all. You know you are the only woman in my world. my God! I don't understand what you want. I want love.I thought I was married to the most beautiful man in England, but I was actually married to a mannequin from a dress shop. Don't be so stupid.I'm just a normal normal British guy.I'm not an Italian busker playing an accordion in the street. She paced hurriedly up and down the room.They lived in a small flat in Buckingham Palace Road, which wasn't much space, but she made it as nice as possible.She stretched her arms high towards the sky.

I seem to be squinting and hunchbacked.I seem to be fifty years old.Am I really that unattractive?How shameful it is to beg for love!Pain, pain! It's a great move, dear.It's like a cricket pitch.Remember this. She shot him a contemptuous glance. That's all you can think about.My heart is breaking, but you'll only talk about one of my accidental gestures. But he could see from the look on her face that she was storing the action in her memory, knowing she would use it subtly when needed. After all love is not everything.It is indeed beautiful at the right time and in the right place.We had a lot of fun on our honeymoon, which is what a honeymoon is for, but now it's time to get down to work.

They are lucky.They managed to land two pretty good parts in a very successful play.Julia had a good acting scene and was well-received, while Michael's astonishing beauty caused a stir.Michael, with his gentlemanly demeanor and good manners, brought both of them public attention, and their pictures were published in illustrated magazines.They were invited to many parties, and Michael, though thrifty, spared no expense in entertaining those who would be helpful to them.Julia was impressed by his generosity on these occasions. An actor-manager offered to offer Julia the lead actress in his next play, but there was no offer for Michael. She was tempted to say no, but he wouldn't let her.He said their financial situation could not allow their feelings to get in the way of their careers.He finally landed a role in a costume drama.

When the war broke out, they were both acting.Michael was immediately enlisted, to Julia's pride and pain, but with the help of his father and the help of an old comrade in the War Department who held a high position in the War Department, he was soon qualified as an officer.When he was sent to France, Julia deeply repented of scolding him, and made up her mind that if he died in battle, she would kill herself.She was going to be a nurse, so she could go to France, at least in the same country as him, but he made her understand that patriotism required her to continue acting, and she could not disobey what was probably his last words.

Michael greatly admired war.He was popular among the soldiers at regimental headquarters, and the officers in the Army Corps took him almost immediately, even though he was an actor.It seemed that his military background had stamped him, and he instinctively followed the style and way of thinking of a professional soldier.He was tactful, affable, and knew how to navigate his way so deftly that it was inevitable that he would find himself on a general's staff.He showed considerable organizational skills, and during the last three years of the war he became a member of General Headquarters.Eventually he rose to the rank of major and was awarded the War Merit Cross (Note: The British Medal was established in 1915.) and the Legion of Honor (Note: Napoleon was established in 1802.).

During this time, Julia played a string of important roles and was considered the best young actress.The theatrical industry flourished throughout the war, and she earned a fortune by performing in long-running repertoires.Salaries continued to increase, and at Michael's word she was able to get eighty a week from the demanding manager. Michael was coming back to England for the holidays, and Julia couldn't have been happier.Although he was no more dangerous in France than in sheep farming in New Zealand, she acted as if the short time he was with her were the last days of a doomed man on earth. sky.She treated him as if he had just escaped from the horrors of the trenches, and she was kind and considerate to him, demanding nothing.

Just before the end of the war, her love for him faded away. She was pregnant at the time.Michael didn't think it was the right time to have a baby, but she was approaching thirty and thought that if they were going to have a baby at all, there should be no further delay.She was established on the stage and could not be on the stage for months, and Michael could die at any time. Although he had said that he was very safe, he said it only for her peace of mind, and even generals sometimes fight. If she is going to live on, she must have a child with him.The child will be born at the end of that year.She was looking forward to Michael's holiday again more eagerly than ever.She felt very well, but she longed for his arms, and felt a little restless, as if feeling alone and helpless, in need of his protective strength.

Here he came, wearing a red staff collar patch on his well-fitting military uniform, and a shining crown on his epaulettes, looking extremely handsome.As a result of his hard work in the headquarters, he had put on a lot of weight and had a tanned skin.His short hair, his dashing demeanor, and his military bearing made him look like a soldier.He was elated, not only because he would be home for a few days, but because the end of the war was in sight.He intends to leave the army as soon as possible.Wouldn't it be a waste to have social influence and not use it?So many young people are taken off the stage, either out of patriotism, or because they are squirmed by patriots who stay in the country, and finally because of conscription, so that the main roles on the stage are replaced by those who are not fit for service or have retired due to serious disabilities. people came to serve.There was an excellent gap here, and Michael knew that if he demobilized quickly and returned to the stage, he could pick as good a role as possible.When he had re-established himself in the public memory, he could find a theater, and, with Julia's existing reputation, securely set up his own business.

They talked late and went to bed.She curled up licentiously in his arms, and he wrapped his arms around her.After three months of abstinence, he was burning with enthusiasm. You are a most wonderful wife, he said softly. He pressed his mouth tightly against hers.She felt a sudden, mild disgust.She forced herself not to push him away.In the past, in her passionate nostrils, his flesh, the soft flesh of his youth, seemed to exude a fragrance of flowers and honey, which was one of the things that fascinated her most about him, but now it somehow He disappeared.She realized that he no longer had the scent of youth, he had the stale air of a man.She felt sick.She couldn't match his frenzy with the same frenzy, she just begged him to quickly satisfy his sexual desire, turn around and go to sleep.

She lay in bed for a long time without falling asleep.She is frustrated.She was disheartened, for she knew that she had lost nothing dear to her, and she pitied herself, and she almost wept; It was a joy to free her from the lust that had trapped her in him.Now she was on an equal footing with him.She stretched her legs out on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. God, how wonderful it is to be your own master. They had breakfast in their room, with Julia leaning on the bed and Michael sitting at a small table next to her.He was reading the paper and she was looking at him.How could it be possible that three months would have produced such a big change in him, or was it just because she had been holding her hand all these years in Middlepool when she saw him young and handsome on the stage rehearsing and felt fascinated? Looking upside down at him?He's still very pretty, he's only thirty-six after all, but he's not a kid anymore; look at his short hair, weather-beaten skin, smooth forehead, and fine lines starting to appear under his eyes , he is clearly a man.He lost his pony-like liveliness, his movements were set.Each change was small, but together, it made a huge difference in her keen and delicate eyes.He is a middle-aged man. They still lived in the same small flat they had rented when they first arrived in London.Although Julia had a good income for a while, it seemed not worthwhile to move to a new house while Michael was on active duty, but now that the baby was about to be born, the apartment was obviously too small.Julia has found a house she likes in Regent's Gardens.She wants to move in as soon as possible, and prepares to confine herself there. The house faces the garden.Upstairs from the living room are two bedrooms, and the two rooms above the bedroom can be used separately as day and night nurseries.Michael was happy with all this; even the rent was not too expensive.Julia had earned so much more money than he had over the past four years that she offered to bear the cost of furnishing the new home alone.They were now standing in one of the two bedrooms. I could just furnish my bedroom with a lot of the old furniture, she said, and I'll get you another nice set at Maple's. I don't want to spend too much, he said with a smile, I don't think I'll use it much, you know. He likes to share a bed with her.He was affectionate, not warm, and he had an animal penchant for feeling her flesh against his own.This had been her greatest comfort for a long time.Now she was annoyed just thinking about it. Oh, we should stop messing around until the baby is born.Until everything goes smoothly, I want you to sleep alone. I hadn't thought of this.If you think it's good for the kids