Read Reflections in a Golden Eye for Free Online Page A

white and his black eyes
     glowed. He did not appear to notice the Major but when he reached the bottom of the
     stairs he slowly raised his right leg, with the toes flexed like a ballet dancer's, and
     gave an airy little slap.
    'Idiot!' the Major said. 'How is she?'
    Anacleto lifted his eyebrows and closed his delicate white eyelids very slowly. 'Tres
     fatiguee.'
    'Ah!' said the Major furiously, for he did not speak a word of French. 'Vooley voo rooney
     moo ney moo! I say, how is she?'
    'C'est les ' But Anacleto himself had only recently taken up his study of French and he
     did not know of the word for 'sinuses.' However, he completed his reply with the most
     impressive dignity, 'Maitre Corbeau sur un arbre perche, Major.' He paused, snapped his
     fingers, and then added pensively, as though speaking aloud to himself, 'Some hot broth
     very attractively arranged.'
    'You can fix me an Old Fashioned,' the Major said.
    'I will suddenly,' said Anacleto. He knew very well that 'suddenly' could not be used in
     the place of 'immediately,' as he spoke choice and beautifully enunciated English in a
     voice that was exactly like Mrs. Langdon's; he made this mistake only in order further to
     addle the Major. I shall do so as soon as I have arranged the tray and made Madame Alison
     comfortable.'
    By the Major's watch the preparations for this tray took thirty eight minutes. The little
     Filipino aired about the kitchen in the liveliest manner and brought in a bowl of flowers
     from the dining room. The Major watched him with his hairy fists on his hips. All the
     while Anacleto kept up a soft and vivacious chattering to himself. The Major caught
     something about Mr. Rudolph Serkin and about a cat which was walking around in a candy
     counter with bits of peanut brittle stuck to its fur. In the meantime the Major mixed his
     own drink and fried himself two eggs. When this thirty eight minute tray was finished,
     Anacleto stood with his feet crossed, liquids clasped behind his head, and rocked himself
     slowly.
    'God! You're a rare bird,' the Major said. 'What I wouldn't do if I could get you in my
     battalion!'
    The little Filipino shrugged. It was common knowledge that he thought the Lord had
     blundered grossly in the making of everyone except himself and Madame Alison the sole
     exceptions to this were people behind footlights, midgets, great artists, and such like
     fabulous folk. He looked down with satisfaction at the tray. On it were a cloth of yellow
     linen, a brown pottery jug of hot water, the broth cup, and two bouillon cubes. In the
     right corner there was a little blue Chinese rice bowl holding a bouquet of feathery
     Michaelmas daisies. Very deliberately Anacleto reached down, plucked off three of the blue
     petals, and placed them on the yellow napkin. He was not really as frisky as he appeared
     to be this evening. At times his eyes were anxious, and often he shot the Major a glance
     that was subtle, swift, and accusing.
    'I'll take the tray up,' said the Major, for he saw that, although there was nothing to
     eat involved, it was the sort of thing that would please his wife and he might get the
     credit for it.
    Alison sat propped in her bed with a book. In her reading glasses her face seemed all
     nose and eyes, and there were sickly blue shadows about the corners of her mouth. She wore
     a white linen nightgown and a bed jacket of warm rose velvet. The room was very still and
     a fire burned on the hearth. There was little furniture, and the room, with its soft gray
     mg and cerise curtains, had a bare and very simple look. While Alison drank the broth, the
     Major, bored, sat in a chair by the bed and tried to think up something to say. Anacleto
     meddled lightly about the bed. He was Whistling a melody that was sprightly, sad and clear.
    'Look, Madame Alison!' he said suddenly. 'Do you feel well enough to discuss a certain
     matter with me?'
    She put down her cup and