The million pound banknote

And I told her - I did, indeed - told her I loved her; and she - well, she blushed till her hair turned red, but she liked it; she said she did. Oh, there was never such an evening! Every time I pegged I put on a postscript; every time she pegged she acknowledged receipt of it. Why, I couldn't even say 'Two for this' without adding, 'My, how sweet you do look!' and she would say, 'Two, four, and a pair are eight - do you think so?' - peeping out aslant from under her eyelashes, you know, so sweet and cunning. Oh, it was just too wonderful!

Well, I was perfectly honest and square with her. I told her I hadn't a cent in the world but just the million-pound note she'd heard so much talk about, and that didn't belong to me. That started her curiosity; and then I talked low, and told her the whole history right from the start, and it nearly killed her laughing. What she could find to laugh about I couldn't see, but there it was; every half-minute some new detail would get to her, and I would have to stop as much as a minute and a half to give her a chance to settle down again. Why, she laughed herself lame - she did, indeed; I never saw anything like it.

I mean I never saw a painful story - a story of a person's troubles and worries and fears - produce just that kind of effect before. So I loved her all the more, seeing she could be so cheerful when there wasn't anything to be cheerful about. I might soon need that kind of wife, you know, the way things looked. Of course, I told her we should have to wait a couple of years, till I could catch up on my salary; but she didn't mind that, only she hoped I would be as careful as possible in the matter of expenses, and not let them run the least risk of digging into our third year's pay.

Vocabulary:

Pegged: Moved the pegs to show the score
Peeping: Looking quickly from behind something
Aslant: From the side
Cunning: Clever and deceptive
Square: Here it means 'straightforward' - hiding nothing
Lame: Unable to walk