W. Somerset Maugham: The Moon and Sixpence

51. Chapter LII (continued)

"Then he said: `But what does Ata say to it?' `It appears that she has a beguin for you,' I said. `She's willing if you are. Shall I call her?' He chuckled in a funny, dry way he had, and I called her. She knew what I was talking about, the hussy, and I saw her out of the corner of my eyes listening with all her ears, while she pretended to iron a blouse that she had been washing for me. She came. She was laughing, but I could see that she was a little shy, and Strickland looked at her without speaking."

"Was she pretty?" I asked.

"Not bad. But you must have seen pictures of her. He painted her over and over again, sometimes with a pareo on and sometimes with nothing at all. Yes, she was pretty enough. And she knew how to cook. I taught her myself. I saw Strickland was thinking of it, so I said to him: 'I've given her good wages and she's saved them, and the captains and the first mates she's known have given her a little something now and then. She's saved several hundred francs.'

"He pulled his great red beard and smiled.

"`Well, Ata,' he said, 'do you fancy me for a husband.'

"She did not say anything, but just giggled.

"`But I tell you, my poor Strickland, the girl has a beguin for you,' I said.

"I shall beat you,' he said, looking at her.

"`How else should I know you loved me,' she answered."

Tiare broke off her narrative and addressed herself to me reflectively.