,be
merciful
!
”
She
made
various
attempts
to
speak
,
and
at
last
she
said
,
“
I
bear
you
no
malice
.
But
you
do
n't
understand
me
,
you
never
have
.
”
He
offered
no
reply
.
They
had
reached
the
courtyard
of
the
hotel
.
Daphne
withdrew
her
hand
.
When
she
reached
the
steps
she
preceded
him
without
looking
back
,
and
was
soon
lost
to
sight
.
Boyson
shook
his
head
,
lit
a
cigar
,
and
spent
some
time
longer
pacing
up
and
down
the
verandah
.
When
he
went
to
his
wife
's
room
he
found
her
asleep
,
a
vision
of
soft
youth
and
charm
.
He
stood
a
few
moments
looking
down
upon
her
,
wondering
in
himself
at
what
he
had
done
.
Yet
he
knew
very
well
that
it
was
the
stirring
and
deepening
of
his
whole
being
produced
by
love
that
had
impelled
him
to
do
it
.
Next
morning
he
told
his
wife
.
“
Do
you
suppose
I
produced
any
effect
?
”
he
asked
her
anxiously
.
“
If
she
really
thinks
over
what
I
said
,
she
must
be
touched
!
unless
she
's
made
of
flint
.
I
said
all
the
wrong
things
—
but
I
did
rub
it
in
.
”
“
I
'm
sure
you
did
,
”
said
his
wife
,
smiling
.
Then
she
looked
at
him
with
a
critical
tenderness
.
“
You
dear
optimist
!
”
she
cried
,
and
slipped
her
hand
into
his
.
“
That
means
you
think
I
behaved
like
a
fool
,
and
that
my
appeal
wo
n't
move
her
in
the
least
?
”
The
face
beside
him
saddened
.
“
Dear
,
dear
optimist
!
”
she
repeated
,
and
pressed
his
hand
.
He
urged
an
explanation
of
her
epithet
.
But
she
only
said
,
thoughtfully
:
“
You
took
a
great
responsibility
!
”
“
Towards
her
?
”
She
shook
her
head
.
“
No
—
towards
him
!
”
Meanwhile
Daphne
was
watching
beside
a
death-bed
.
On
her
return
from
her
walk
she
had
been
met
by
the
news
of
fresh
and
grave
symptoms
in
Mrs.
Verrier
's
case
.
A
Boston
doctor
arrived
the
following
morning
.
The
mortal
disease
which
had
attacked
her
about
a
year
before
this
date
had
entered
,
so
he
reported
,
on
its
last
phase
.
He
talked
of
a
few
days
—
possibly
hours
.
The
Boysons
departed
,
having
left
cards
of
inquiry
and
sympathy
,
of
which
Mrs.
Floyd
took
no
notice
.
Then
for
Daphne
there
followed
a
nightmare
of
waiting
and
pain
.
She
loved
Madeleine
Verrier
,
as
far
as
she
was
capable
of
love
,
and
she
jealously
wished
to
be
all
in
all
to
her
in
these
last
hours
.
She
would
have
liked
to
feel
that
it
was
she
who
had
carried
her
friend
through
them
;
who
had
nobly
sustained
her
in
the
dolorous
pass
.
To
have
been
able
to
feel
this
would
have
been
as
balm
moreover
to
a
piteously
wounded
self-love
,
to
a
smarting
and
bitter
recollection
,
which
would
not
let
her
rest
.
But
in
these
last
days
Madeleine
escaped
her
altogether
.
A
thin-faced
priest
arrived
,
the
same
who
had
been
visiting
the
invalid
at
intervals
for
a
month
or
two
.
Mrs.
Verrier
was
received
into
the
Roman
Catholic
Church
;
she
made
her
first
confession
and
communion
;
she
saw
her
mother
for
a
short
,
final
interview
,
and
her
little
girl
;
and
the
physical
energy
required
for
these
acts
exhausted
her
small
store
.
Whenever
Daphne
entered
her
room
Madeleine
received
her
tenderly
;
but
she
could
speak
but
little
,
and
Daphne
felt
herself
shut
out
and
ignored
.
What
she
said
or
thought
was
no
longer
,
it
seemed
,
of
any
account
.
She
resented
and
despised
Madeleine
's
surrender
to
what
she
held
to
be
a
decaying
superstition
;
and
her
haughty
manner
towards
the
mild
Oratorian
whom
she
met
occasionally
on
the
stairs
,
or
in
the
corridor
,
expressed
her
disapproval
.
But
it
was
impossible
to
argue
with
a
dying
woman
.
She
suffered
in
silence
.
As
she
sat
beside
the
patient
,
in
the
hours
of
narcotic
sleep
when
she
relieved
one
of
the
nurses
,
she
went
often
through
times
of
great
bitterness
.
She
could
not
forgive
the
attack
Captain
Boyson
had
made
upon
her
;
yet
she
could
not
forget
it
.
It
had
so
far
roused
her
moral
sense
that
it
led
her
to
a
perpetual
brooding
over
the
past
,
a
perpetual
re-statement
of
her
own
position
.
She
was
most
troubled
,
often
,
by
certain
episodes
in
the
past
,
of
which
,
she
supposed
,
Alfred
Boyson
knew
least
;
the
corrupt
use
she
had
made
of
her
money
;
the
false
witnesses
she
had
paid
for
;
the
bribes
she
had
given
.
At
the
time
it
had
seemed
to
her
all
part
of
the
campaign
,
in
the
day
's
work
.
She
had
found
herself
in
a
milieu
that
demoralised
ised
her
;
her
mind
had
become
like
“
the
dyer
's
hand
,
subdued
to
what
it
worked
in
.
”
Now
,
she
found
herself
thinking
in
a
sudden
terror
,
“
If
Alfred
Boyson
knew
so
and
so
!
”
or
,
as
she
looked
down
on
Madeleine
's
dying
face
,
“
Could
I
even
tell
Madeleine
that
?
”
And
then
would
come
the
dreary
thought
,
“
I
shall
never
tell
her
anything
any
more
.
She
is
lost
to
me
—
even
before
death
.
”
She
tried
to
avoid
thinking
of
Roger
;
but
the
memory
of
the
scene
with
Alfred
Boyson
did
,
in
truth
,
bring
him
constantly
before
her
.
An
inner
debate
began
,
from
which
she
could
not
escape
.
She
grew
white
and
ill
with
it
.
If
she
could
have
rushed
away
from
it
into
the
full
stream
of
life
,
have
thrown
herself
into
meetings
and
discussion
,
have
resumed
her
place
as
the
admired
and
flattered
head
of
a
particular
society
,
she
could
easily
have
crushed
and
silenced
the
thoughts
which
tormented
her
.
But
she
was
held
fast
.
She
could
not
desert
Madeleine
Verrier
in
death
;
she
could
not
wrench
her
own
hand
from
this
frail
hand
which
clung
to
it
;
even
though
Madeleine
had
betrayed
the
common
cause
,
had
yielded
at
last
to
that
moral
and
spiritual
cowardice
which
—
as
all
freethinkers
know
—
has
spoiled
and
clouded
so
many
death-beds
.
Daphne
—
the
skimmer
of
many
books
—
remembered
how
Renan
—
sain
et
sauf
—
had
sent
a
challenge
to
his
own
end
,
and
,
defying
the
possible
weakness
of
age
and
sickness
,
had
demanded
to
be
judged
by
the
convictions
of
life
,
and
not
by
the
terrors
of
death
.
She
tried
to
fortify
her
own
mind
by
the
recollection
.
The
first
days
of
June
broke
radiantly
over
the
great
gorge
and
the
woods
which
surround
it
.
One
morning
,
early
,
between
four
and
five
o'clock
,
Daphne
came
in
,
to
find
Madeleine
awake
and
comparatively
at
ease
.
Yet
the
preceding
twenty-four
hours
had
been
terrible
,
and
her
nurses
knew
that
the
end
could
not
be
far
off
.
The
invalid
had
just
asked
that
her
couch
might
be
drawn
as
near
to
the
window
as
possible
,
and
she
lay
looking
towards
the
dawn
,
which
rose
in
fresh
and
windless
beauty
over
the
town
opposite
and
the
white
splendour
of
the
Falls
.
The
American
Fall
was
still
largely
in
shadow
;
but
the
light
struck
on
the
fresh
green
of
Goat
Island
and
leapt
in
tongues
of
fire
along
the
edge
of
the
Horseshoe
,
turning
the
rapids
above
it
to
flame
and
sending
shafts
into
the
vast
tower
of
spray
that
holds
the
centre
of
the
curve
.
Nature
was
all
youth
,
glitter
and
delight
;
summer
was
rushing
on
the
gorge
;
the
mingling
of
wood
and
water
was
at
its
richest
and
noblest
.
Madeleine
turned
her
face
towards
the
gorge
,
her
wasted
hands
clasped
on
her
breast
.
She
beckoned
Daphne
with
a
smile
,
and
Daphne
knelt
down
beside
her
.
“
The
water
!
”
said
the
whispering
voice
;
“
it
was
once
so
terrible
.
I
am
not
afraid
—
now
.
”
“
No
,
darling
.
Why
should
you
be
?
”
“
I
know
now
,
I
shall
see
him
again
.
”
Daphne
was
silent
.
“
I
hoped
it
,
but
I
could
n't
be
certain
.
That
was
so
awful
.
Now
—
I
am
certain
.
”
“
Since
you
became
a
Catholic
?
”
She
made
a
sign
of
assent
.
“
I
could
n't
be
uncertain
—
I
could
n't
!
”
she
added
with
fervour
,
looking
strangely
at
Daphne
.
And
Daphne
understood
that
no
voice
less
positive
or
self-confident
than
that
of
Catholicism
,
no
religion
less
well
provided
with
tangible
rites
and
practices
,
could
have
lifted
from
the
spirit
the
burden
of
that
remorse
which
had
yet
killed
the
body
.
A
little
later
Madeleine
drew
her
down
again
.
“
I
could
n't
talk
,
Daphne
—
I
was
afraid
;
but
I
've
written
to
you
,
just
bit
by
bit
,
as
I
had
strength
.
Oh
,
Daphne
—
!
”
Then
voice
and
strength
failed
her
.
Her
eyes
piteously
followed
her
friend
for
a
little
,
and
then
closed
.
She
lingered
through
the
day
;
and
at
night
,
when
the
June
starlight
was
on
the
gorge
,
she
passed
away
,
with
the
voice
of
the
Falls
in
her
dying
ears
.
A
tragic
beauty
—
“
beauty
born
of
murmuring
sound
”
—
had
passed
into
her
face
;
and
that
great
plunge
of
many
waters
,
which
had
been
to
her
in
life
the
symbol
of
anguish
and
guilt
,
had
become
in
some
mysterious
way
the
comforter
of
her
pain
,
the
friend
of
her
last
sleep
.
A
letter
was
found
for
Daphne
in
the
little
box
beside
her
bed
.
It
ran
thus
:
“
DAPHNE
,
DARLING
,
—
It
was
I
who
first
taught
you
that
we
may
follow
our
own
lawless
wills
,
and
that
marriage
is
something
we
may
bend
or
break
as
we
will
.
But
,
oh
!
it
is
not
so
.
Marriage
is
mysterious
and
wonderful
;
it
is
the
supreme
test
of
men
and
women
.
If
we
wrong
it
,
and
despise
it
,
we
mutilate
the
divine
in
ourselves
.
“
Oh
,
Daphne
!
it
is
a
small
thing
to
say
,
‘Forgive
!
’
Yet
it
means
the
whole
world
.
“
And
you
can
still
say
it
to
the
living
.
It
has
been
my
anguish
that
I
could
only
say
it
to
the
dead
.
Daphne
,
good-bye
!
I
have
fought
a
long
,
long
fight
,
but
God
is
Master
—
I
bless
—
I
adore
—
”
Daphne
sat
staring
at
the
letter
through
a
mist
of
unwilling
tears
.
All
its
phrases
,
ideas
,
preconceptions
,
were
unwelcome
,
unreal
to
her
,
though
she
knew
they
had
been
real
to
Madeleine
.
Yet
the
compulsion
of
the
dead
was
upon
her
,
and
of
her
scene
with
Boyson
.
What
they
asked
of
her
—
Madeleine
and
Alfred
Boyson
—
was
of
course
out
of
the
question
;
the
mere
thought
of
that
humiliating
word
“
forgiveness
”
sent
a
tingle
of
passion
through
her
.
But
was
there
no
third
course
?
—
something
which
might
prove
to
all
the
world
how
full
of
resource
and
generosity
a
woman
may
be
?
She
pondered
through
some
sleepless
hours
;
and
at
last
she
saw
her
way
plain
.
Within
a
week
she
had
left
New
York
for
Europe
.
CHAPTER
XII
THE
ship
on
which
Daphne
travelled
had
covered
about
half
her
course
.
On
a
certain
June
evening
Mrs.
Floyd
,
walking
up
and
down
the
promenade
deck
,
found
her
attention
divided
between
two
groups
of
her
fellow-travellers
—
one
taking
exercise
on
the
same
deck
as
herself
;
the
other
,
a
family
party
,
on
the
steerage
deck
,
on
which
many
persons
in
the
first
class
paused
to
look
down
with
sympathy
as
they
reached
the
dividing
rail
aft
.
The
group
on
the
promenade
deck
consisted
of
a
lady
and
gentleman
,
and
a
boy
of
seven
.
The
elders
walked
rapidly
,
holding
themselves
stiffly
erect
,
and
showing
no
sign
of
acquaintance
with
anyone
on
board
.
The
child
dragged
himself
wearily
along
behind
them
,
looking
sometimes
from
side
to
side
at
the
various
people
passing
by
,
with
eyes
no
less
furtive
than
his
mother
's
.
She
was
a
tall
and
handsome
woman
,
with
extravagantly
marine
clothes
and
much
false
hair
.
Her
companion
,
a
bulky
and
ill-favoured
man
,
glanced
superciliously
at
the
ladies
in
the
deck
chairs
,
bestowing
always
a
more
attentive
scrutiny
than
usual
on
a
very
pretty
girl
,
who
was
lying
reading
midway
down
,
with
a
white
lace
scarf
draped
round
her
beautiful
hair
and
the
harmonious
oval
of
her
face
.
Daphne
,
watching
him
,
remembered
that
she
had
seen
him
speaking
to
the
girl
—
who
was
travelling
alone
—
on
one
or
two
occasions
.
For
the
rest
,
they
were
a
notorious
couple
.
The
woman
had
been
twice
divorced
,
after
misdoings
which
had
richly
furnished
the
newspapers
;
the
man
belonged
to
a
financial
class
with
which
reputable
men
of
business
associate
no
more
than
they
are
obliged
.
The
ship
left
them
severely
alone
;
and
they
retaliated
by
a
manner
clearly
meant
to
say
that
they
did
n't
care
a
brass
farthing
for
the
ship
.
The
group
on
the
steerage
deck
was
of
a
very
different
kind
.
It
was
made
up
of
a
consumptive
wife
,
a
young
husband
and
one
or
two
children
.
The
wife
's
malady
,
recently
declared
,
had
led
to
their
being
refused
admission
to
the
States
.
They
had
been
turned
back
from
the
emigrant
station
on
Ellis
Island
,
and
were
now
sadly
returning
to
Liverpool
.
But
the
courage
of
the
young
and
sweet-faced
mother
,
the
devotion
of
her
Irish
husband
,
the
charm
of
her
dark-eyed
children
,
had
roused
much
feeling
in
an
idle
ship
,
ready
for
emotion
.
There
had
been
a
collection
for
them
among
the
passengers
;
a
Liverpool
shipowner
,
in
the
first
class
,
had
promised
work
to
the
young
man
on
landing
;
the
mother
was
to
be
sent
to
a
sanatorium
;
the
children
cared
for
during
her
absence
.
The
family
made
a
kind
of
nucleus
round
which
whatever
humanity
—
or
whatever
imitation
of
it
—
there
was
on
board
might
gather
and
crystallise
.
There
were
other
mournful
cases
indeed
to
be
studied
on
the
steerage
deck
,
but
none
in
which
misfortune
was
so
attractive
.
As
she
walked
up
and
down
,
or
sat
in
the
tea-room
catching
fragments
of
the
conversation
round
her
,
Daphne
was
often
secretly
angered
by
the
public
opinion
she
perceived
,
favourable
in
the
one
case
,
hostile
in
the
other
.
How
ignorant
and
silly
it
was
—
this
public
opinion
!
As
to
herself
,
she
was
soon
aware
that
a
few
people
on
board
had
identified
her
and
communicated
their
knowledge
to
others
.
On
the
whole
,
she
felt
herself
treated
with
deference
.
Her
own
version
of
her
story
was
clearly
accepted
,
at
least
by
the
majority
;
some
showed
her
an
unspoken
but
evident
sympathy
,
while
her
wealth
made
her
generally
interesting
.
Yet
there
were
two
or
three
in
whom
she
felt
or
fancied
a
more
critical
attitude
;
who
looked
at
her
coolly
,
and
seemed
to
avoid
her
.
Bostonian
Pharisees
,
no
doubt
!
—
ignorant
of
all
those
great
expansions
of
the
female
destiny
that
were
going
forward
.
The
fact
was
—
she
admitted
it
—
that
she
was
abnormally
sensitive
.
These
moral
judgments
,
of
different
sorts
,
of
which
she
was
conscious
,
floating
as
it
were
in
the
life
around
her
,
which
her
mind
isolated
and
magnified
,
found
her
smarting
and
sore
,
and
would
not
let
her
be
.
Her
irritable
pride
was
touched
at
every
turn
;
she
hardly
knew
why
.
She
was
not
to
be
judged
by
anybody
;
she
was
her
own
defender
and
her
own
judge
.
If
she
was
no
longer
a
symbolic
and
sympathetic
figure
—
like
that
young
mother
among
her
children
—
she
had
her
own
claims
.
In
the
secrecy
of
the
mind
she
fiercely
set
them
out
.
The
days
passed
,
however
,
and
as
she
neared
the
English
shores
her
resistance
to
a
pursuing
thought
became
fainter
.
It
was
,
of
course
,
Boyson
's
astonishing
appeal
to
her
that
had
let
loose
the
Avenging
Goddesses
.
She
repelled
them
with
scorn
;
yet
all
the
same
they
hurtled
round
her
.
After
all
,
she
was
no
monster
.
She
had
done
a
monstrous
thing
in
a
sudden
brutality
of
egotism
;
and
a
certain
crude
state
of
law
and
opinion
had
helped
her
to
do
it
,
had
confused
the
moral
values
and
falsified
her
conscience
.
But
she
was
not
yet
brutalised
.
Moreover
,
do
what
she
would
,
she
was
still
in
a
world
governed
by
law
;
a
world
at
the
heart
of
which
broods
a
power
austere
and
immutable
;
a
power
which
man
did
not
make
,
which
,
if
he
clash
with
it
,
grinds
him
to
powder
.
Its
manifestations
in
Daphne
's
case
were
slight
,
but
enough
.
She
was
not
happy
,
that
certainly
was
clear
.
She
did
not
suppose
she
ever
would
be
happy
again
.
Whatever
it
was
—
just
,
heroic
,
or
the
reverse
—
the
action
by
which
she
had
violently
changed
her
life
had
not
been
a
success
,
estimated
by
results
.
No
other
man
had
attracted
her
since
she
had
cast
Roger
off
;
her
youth
seemed
to
be
deserting
her
;
she
saw
herself
in
the
glass
every
morning
with
discontent
,
even
a
kind
of
terror
;
she
had
lost
her
child
.
And
in
these
suspended
hours
of
the
voyage
,
when
life
floats
between
sky
and
sea
,
amid
the
infinity
of
waves
,
all
that
she
had
been
doing
since
the
divorce
,
her
public
“
causes
”
and
triumphs
,
the
adulations
with
which
she
had
been
surrounded
,
began
to
seem
to
her
barren
and
futile
.
No
,
she
was
not
happy
;
what
she
had
done
had
not
answered
;
and
she
knew
it
.
One
night
,
a
night
of
calm
air
and
silvery
sea
,
she
hung
over
the
ship
's
side
,
dreaming
rather
miserably
.
The
ship
,
aglow
with
lights
,
alive
with
movement
,
with
talk
,
laughter
and
music
,
glided
on
between
the
stars
and
the
unfathomable
depths
of
the
mid-Atlantic
.
Nothing
,
to
north
and
south
,
between
her
and
the
poles
;
nothing
but
a
few
feet
of
iron
and
timber
between
her
and
the
hungry
gulfs
in
which
the
highest
Alp
would
sink
from
sight
.
The
floating
palace
,
hung
by
Knowledge
above
Death
,
just
out
of
Death
's
reach
,
suggested
to
her
a
number
of
melancholy
thoughts
and
images
.
A
touch
of
more
than
Arctic
cold
stole
upon
her
,
even
through
this
loveliness
of
a
summer
night
;
she
felt
desperately
unhappy
and
alone
.
From
the
saloon
came
a
sound
of
singing
“
An
die
Lippen
wollt
'
ich
pressen
Deine
kleine
weisse
Hand
,
Und
mit
Thränen
sie
benetzen
Deine
kleine
weisse
Hand
.
”
The
tears
came
to
her
eyes
.
She
remembered
that
she
,
too
,
had
once
felt
the
surrender
and
the
tenderness
of
love
.
Then
she
brushed
the
tears
away
,
angry
with
herself
and
determined
to
brood
no
more
.
But
she
looked
round
her
in
vain
for
a
companion
who
might
distract
her
.
She
had
made
no
friends
on
board
,
and
though
she
had
brought
with
her
a
secretary
and
a
maid
,
she
kept
them
both
at
arm
's
length
,
and
they
never
offered
their
society
without
an
invitation
.
What
was
she
going
to
do
?
And
why
was
she
making
this
journey
?
Because
the
injustice
and
absurdity
of
English
law
had
distorted
and
besmirched
her
own
perfectly
legitimate
action
.
They
had
given
a
handle
to
such
harsh
critics
as
Alfred
Boyson
.
But
she
meant
somehow
to
put
herself
right
;
and
not
only
herself
,
but
the
great
cause
of
woman
's
freedom
and
independence
.
No
woman
,
in
the
better
future
that
is
coming
,
shall
be
forced
either
by
law
or
opinion
to
continue
the
relations
of
marriage
with
a
man
she
has
come
to
despise
.
Marriage
is
merely
proclaimed
love
;
and
if
love
fails
,
marriage
has
no
further
meaning
or
raison
d'être
:
it
comes
,
or
should
come
,
automatically
to
an
end
.
This
is
the
first
article
in
the
woman
's
charter
,
and
without
it
marriage
itself
has
neither
value
nor
sanctity
.
She
seemed
to
hear
sentences
of
this
sort
,
in
her
own
voice
,
echoing
about
windy
halls
,
producing
waves
of
emotion
on
a
sea
of
strained
faces
—
women
's
faces
,
set
and
pale
,
like
that
of
Madeleine
Verrier
.
She
had
never
actually
made
such
a
speech
,
but
she
felt
she
would
like
to
have
made
it
.
What
was
she
going
to
do
?
No
doubt
Roger
would
resent
her
coming
—
would
probably
refuse
to
see
her
,
as
she
had
once
refused
to
see
him
.
Well
,
she
must
try
and
act
with
dignity
and
common
sense
;
she
must
try
and
persuade
him
to
recognise
her
good
faith
,
and
to
get
him
to
listen
to
what
she
proposed
.
She
had
her
plan
for
Roger
's
reclamation
,
and
was
already
in
love
with
it
.
Naturally
,
she
had
never
meant
permanently
to
hurt
or
injure
Roger
!
She
had
done
it
for
his
good
as
well
as
her
own
.
Yet
even
as
she
put
this
plea
forward
in
the
inner
tribunal
of
consciousness
,
she
knew
that
it
was
false
.
“
You
have
murdered
a
life
!
”
Well
,
that
was
what
prejudiced
and
hide-bound
persons
like
Alfred
Boyson
said
,
and
no
doubt
always
would
say
.
She
could
not
help
it
;
but
for
her
own
dignity
's
sake
,
that
moral
dignity
in
which
she
liked
to
feel
herself
enwrapped
,
she
would
give
as
little
excuse
for
it
as
possible
.
Then
,
as
she
stood
looking
eastward
,
a
strange
thought
struck
her
.
Once
on
that
farther
shore
and
she
would
be
Roger
's
wife
again
—
an
English
subject
,
and
Roger
's
wife
.
How
ridiculous
,
and
how
intolerable
!
When
shall
we
see
some
real
comity
of
nations
in
these
matters
of
international
marriage
and
divorce
?
She
had
consulted
her
lawyers
in
New
York
before
starting
;
on
Roger
's
situation
first
of
all
,
but
also
on
her
own
.
Roger
,
it
seemed
,
might
take
certain
legal
steps
,
once
he
was
aware
of
her
being
again
on
English
ground
.
But
,
of
course
,
he
would
not
take
them
.
“
It
was
never
me
he
cared
for
—
only
Beatty
!
”
she
said
to
herself
with
a
bitter
perversity
.
Still
the
thought
of
returning
within
the
range
of
the
old
obligations
,
the
old
life
,
affected
her
curiously
.
There
were
hours
,
especially
at
night
,
when
she
felt
shut
up
with
thoughts
of
Roger
and
Beatty
—
her
husband
and
her
child
—
just
as
of
old
.
How
,
in
the
name
of
justice
,
was
she
to
blame
for
Roger
's
illness
?
Her
irritable
thoughts
made
a
kind
of
grievance
against
him
of
the
attack
of
pneumonia
which
she
was
told
had
injured
his
health
.
He
must
have
neglected
.
himself
in
some
foolish
way
.
The
strongest
men
are
the
most
reckless
of
themselves
.
In
any
case
,
how
was
it
her
fault
?
One
night
she
woke
up
suddenly
,
in
the
dawn
,
her
heart
beating
tumultuously
.
She
had
been
dreaming
of
her
meeting
—
her
possible
meeting
—
with
Roger
.
Her
face
was
flushed
,
her
memory
confused
.
She
could
not
recall
the
exact
words
or
incidents
of
the
dream
,
only
that
Roger
had
been
in
some
way
terrible
and
terrifying
.
And
as
she
sat
up
in
her
berth
,
trying
to
compose
herself
,
she
recalled
the
last
time
she
had
seen
him
at
Philadelphia
—
a
painful
scene
—
and
his
last
broken
words
to
her
,
as
he
turned
back
from
the
door
to
speak
them
:
—
“
As
to
Beatty
,
I
hold
you
responsible
!
She
is
my
child
,
no
less
than
yours
.
You
shall
answer
to
me
!
Remember
that
!
”
Answer
to
him
?
Beatty
was
dead
—
in
spite
of
all
that
love
and
science
could
do
.
Involuntarily
she
began
to
weep
as
she
remembered
the
child
's
last
days
;
the
little
choked
cry
,
once
or
twice
,
for
“
Daddy
!
”
followed
,
so
long
as
life
maintained
its
struggle
,
by
a
childish
anger
that
he
did
not
come
.
And
then
the
silencing
of
the
cry
,
and
the
last
change
and
settling
in
the
small
face
,
so
instinct
already
with
feeling
and
character
,
so
prophetic
of
the
woman
to
be
.
A
grief
,
of
course
,
never
to
be
got
over
;
but
for
which
she
,
Daphne
,
deserved
pity
and
tenderness
,
not
reproaches
.
She
hardened
herself
to
meet
the
coming
trial
.
She
arrived
in
London
in
the
first
week
of
July
,
and
her
first
act
was
to
post
a
letter
to
Herbert
French
,
addressed
to
his
East-End
vicarage
,
a
letter
formally
expressed
and
merely
asking
him
to
give
the
writer
“
twenty
minutes
'
conversation
on
a
subject
of
common
interest
to
us
both
.
”
The
letter
was
signed
“
Daphne
Floyd
,
”
and
a
stamped
envelope
addressed
to
“
Mrs.
Floyd
”
was
enclosed
.
By
return
of
post
she
received
a
letter
from
a
person
unknown
to
her
,
the
curate
,
apparently
,
in
charge
of
Mr.
French
's
parish
.
The
letter
informed
her
that
her
own
communication
had
not
been
forwarded
,
as
Mr.
French
had
gone
away
for
a
holiday
after
a
threat
of
nervous
breakdown
in
consequence
of
overwork
;
and
business
letters
and
interviews
were
being
spared
him
as
much
as
possible
.
“
He
is
,
however
,
much
better
,
I
am
glad
to
say
,
and
if
the
subject
on
which
you
wish
to
speak
to
him
is
really
urgent
,
his
present
address
is
Prospect
House
,
St.
Damian
's
,
Ventnor
.
But
unless
it
is
urgent
it
would
be
a
kindness
not
to
trouble
him
with
it
until
he
returns
to
town
,
which
will
not
be
for
another
fortnight
.
”
Daphne
walked
restlessly
up
and
down
her
hotel
sitting-room
.
Of
course
the
matter
was
urgent
.
The
health
of
an
East-End
clergyman
—
already
,
it
appeared
,
much
amended
—
was
not
likely
to
seem
of
much
importance
to
a
woman
of
her
temperament
,
when
it
stood
in
the
way
of
her
plans
.
But
she
would
not
write
,
she
would
go
.
She
had
good
reason
to
suppose
that
Herbert
French
would
not
welcome
a
visit
from
her
;
he
might
indeed
very
easily
use
his
health
as
an
excuse
for
not
seeing
her
.
But
she
must
see
him
.
By
mid-day
she
was
already
on
her
way
to
the
Isle
of
Wight
.
About
five
o'clock
she
arrived
at
Ventnor
,
where
she
deposited
maid
and
luggage
.
She
then
drove
out
alone
to
St.
Damian
's
,
a
village
a
few
miles
north
,
through
a
radiant
evening
.
The
twinkling
sea
was
alive
with
craft
of
all
sizes
,
from
the
great
liner
leaving
its
trail
of
smoke
along
the
horizon
,
to
the
white-sailed
yachts
close
upon
the
land
.
The
woods
of
the
Undercliff
sank
softly
to
the
blues
and
purple
,
the
silver
streaks
and
gorgeous
shadows
of
the
sea
floor
.
The
lights
were
broad
and
rich
.
After
a
hot
day
,
coolness
had
come
and
the
air
was
delightful
.
But
Daphne
sat
erect
,
noticing
nothing
but
the
relief
of
the
lowered
temperature
after
her
hot
and
tiresome
journey
.
She
applied
herself
occasionally
to
natural
beauty
,
as
she
applied
herself
to
music
or
literature
;
but
it
is
not
to
women
of
her
type
that
the
true
passion
of
it
—
“
the
soul
's
bridegroom
”
—
comes
.
And
she
was
absorbed
in
thinking
how
she
should
open
her
business
to
Herbert
French
.
Prospect
House
turned
out
to
be
a
detached
villa
standing
in
a
garden
,
with
a
broad
view
of
the
Channel
.
Daphne
sent
her
carriage
back
to
the
inn
and
climbed
the
steep
drive
which
led
up
to
the
verandahed
house
.
The
front
garden
was
empty
,
but
voices
—
voices
,
it
seemed
,
of
children
—
came
from
behind
the
house
where
there
was
a
grove
of
trees
.
“
Is
Mr.
Herbert
French
at
home
?
”
she
asked
of
the
maid
who
answered
her
bell
.
The
girl
looked
at
her
doubtfully
.
“
Yes
,
ma'am
—
but
he
does
n't
see
visitors
yet
.
Shall
I
tell
Mrs.
French
?
She
's
in
the
garden
with
the
children
.
”
“
No
,
thank
you
,
”
said
Daphne
,
firmly
.
“
It
's
Mr.
French
I
have
come
to
see
,
and
I
am
sure
that
he
will
wish
to
see
me
.
Will
you
kindly
give
him
my
card
?
I
will
come
in
and
wait
.
”
And
she
brushed
past
the
maid
,
who
was
intimidated
by
the
visitor
's
fashionable
dress
and
by
the
drooping
feathers
of
her
Paris
hat
,
in
which
the
sharp
olive-skinned
face
with
its
magnificent
eyes
was
picturesquely
framed
.
The
girl
gave
way
unwillingly
,
showed
Mrs.
Floyd
into
a
small
study
looking
on
the
front
garden
,
and
left
her
.
“
Elsie
!
”
cried
Herbert
French
,
springing
from
the
low
chair
in
which
he
had
been
lounging
in
his
shirt-sleeves
with
a
book
when
the
parlour-maid
found
him
,
“
Elsie
!
”
His
wife
,
who
was
at
the
other
end
of
the
lawn
,
playing
with
the
children
,
the
boy
on
her
back
and
a
pair
of
girl
twins
clinging
to
her
skirts
,
turned
in
astonishment
and
hurried
back
to
him
.
“
Mrs.
Floyd
?
”
They
both
looked
at
the
card
in
bewilderment
.
“
Who
is
it
?
Mrs.
Floyd
?
”
Then
French
's
face
changed
.
“
What
is
this
lady
like
?
”
he
asked
peremptorily
of
the
parlour-maid
.
“
Well
,
sir
,
she
's
a
dark
lady
,
dressed
very
smart
—
”
“
Has
she
very
black
eyes
?
”
“
Oh
,
yes
,
sir
!
”
“
Young
?
”
The
girl
promptly
replied
in
the
negative
,
qualifying
it
a
moment
afterwards
by
a
perplexed
“
Well
,
I
should
n't
say
so
,
sir
.
”
French
thought
a
moment
.
“
Thank
you
.
I
will
come
in
.
”
He
turned
to
his
wife
with
a
rapid
question
,
under
his
breath
.
“
Where
is
Roger
?
”
Elsie
stared
at
him
,
her
colour
paling
.
“
Herbert
!
—
it
ca
n't
—
it
ca
n't
—
”
“
I
suspect
it
is
—
Mrs.
Barnes
,
”
said
French
slowly
.
“
Help
me
on
with
my
coat
,
darling
.
Now
then
,
what
shall
we
do
?
”
“
She
ca
n't
have
come
to
force
herself
on
him
!
”
cried
his
wife
passionately
.
“
Probably
she
knows
nothing
of
his
being
here
.
Did
he
go
for
a
walk
?
”
“
Yes
,
towards
Sandown
.
But
he
will
be
back
directly
.
”
A
quick
shade
of
expression
crossed
French
's
face
,
which
his
wife
knew
to
mean
that
whenever
Roger
was
out
by
himself
there
was
cause
for
anxiety
.
But
the
familiar
trouble
was
immediately
swallowed
up
in
the
new
and
pressing
one
.
“
What
can
that
woman
have
come
to
say
?
”
he
asked
,
half
of
himself
,
half
of
his
wife
,
as
he
walked
slowly
back
to
the
house
.
Elsie
had
conveyed
the
children
to
their
nurse
,
and
was
beside
him
.
“
Perhaps
she
repents
!
”
The
tone
was
dry
and
short
;
it
flung
a
challenge
to
misdoing
.
“
I
doubt
it
!
But
Roger
?
”
French
stood
still
,
pondering
.
“
Keep
him
,
darling
—
intercept
him
if
you
can
.
If
he
must
see
her
,
I
will
come
out
.
But
we
must
n't
risk
a
shock
.
”
They
consulted
a
little
in
low
voices
.
Then
French
went
into
the
house
and
Elsie
came
back
to
her
children
.
She
stood
thinking
,
her
fine
face
,
so
open-browed
and
purely
lined
,
frowning
and
distressed
.
“
You
wished
to
see
me
,
Mrs.
Barnes
?
”
French
had
closed
the
door
of
the
study
behind
him
and
stood
without
offering
to
shake
hands
with
his
visitor
,
coldly
regarding
her
.
Daphne
rose
from
her
seat
,
reddening
involuntarily
.
“
My
name
is
no
longer
what
you
once
knew
it
,
Mr.
French
.
I
sent
you
my
card
.
”
French
made
a
slight
inclination
and
pointed
to
the
chair
from
which
she
had
risen
.
“
Pray
sit
down
.
May
I
know
what
has
brought
you
here
?
”
Daphne
resumed
her
seat
,
her
small
hands
fidgeting
on
her
parasol
.
“
I
wished
to
come
and
consult
with
you
,
Mr.
French
.
I
had
heard
a
distressing
account
of
—
of
Roger
,
from
a
friend
in
America
.
”
“
I
see
,
”
said
French
,
on
whom
a
sudden
light
dawned
.
“
You
met
Boyson
at
Niagara
—
that
I
knew
—
and
you
are
here
because
of
what
he
said
to
you
?
”
“
Yes
,
partly
.
”
The
speaker
looked
round
the
room
,
biting
her
lip
,
and
French
observed
her
for
a
moment
.
He
remembered
the
foreign
vivacity
and
dash
,
the
wilful
grace
of
her
youth
,
and
marvelled
at
her
stiffened
,
pretentious
air
,
her
loss
of
charm
.
Instinctively
the
saint
in
him
knew
from
the
mere
look
of
her
that
she
had
been
feeding
herself
on
egotisms
and
falsehoods
,
and
his
heart
hardened
.
Daphne
resumed
:
“
If
Captain
Boyson
has
given
you
an
account
of
our
interview
,
Mr.
French
,
it
was
probably
a
one-sided
one
.
However
,
that
is
not
the
point
.
He
did
distress
me
very
much
by
his
account
,
which
I
gather
came
from
you
—
of
—
of
Roger
,
and
although
,
of
course
,
it
is
a
very
awkward
matter
for
me
to
move
in
,
I
still
felt
impelled
for
old
times
'
sake
to
come
over
and
see
whether
I
could
not
help
you
—
and
his
other
friends
—
and
,
of
course
,
his
mother
—
”
“
His
mother
is
out
of
the
question
,
”
interrupted
French
.
“
She
is
,
I
am
sorry
to
say
,
a
helpless
invalid
.
”
“
Is
it
really
as
bad
as
that
?
I
hoped
for
better
news
.
Then
I
apply
to
you
—
to
you
chiefly
.
Is
there
anything
that
I
could
do
to
assist
you
,
or
others
,
to
—
”
“
To
save
him
?
”
French
put
in
the
words
as
she
hesitated
.
Daphne
was
silent
.
“
What
is
your
idea
?
”
asked
French
,
after
a
moment
.
“
You
heard
,
I
presume
,
from
Captain
Boyson
that
my
wife
and
I
were
extremely
anxious
about
Roger
's
ways
and
habits
;
that
we
cannot
induce
him
,
or
,
at
any
rate
,
we
have
not
yet
been
able
to
induce
him
,
to
give
up
drinking
;
that
his
health
is
extremely
bad
,
and
that
we
are
sometimes
afraid
that
there
is
now
some
secret
in
his
life
of
which
he
is
ashamed
?
”
“
Yes
,
”
said
Daphne
,
fidgeting
with
a
book
on
the
table
.
“
Yes
,
that
is
what
I
heard
.
”
“
And
you
have
come
to
suggest
something
?
”
“
Is
there
no
way
by
which
Roger
can
become
as
free
as
I
now
am
!
”
she
said
suddenly
,
throwing
back
her
head
.
“
By
which
Roger
can
obtain
his
divorce
from
you
—
and
marry
again
?
None
,
in
English
law
.
”
“
But
there
is
—
in
Colonial
law
.
”
She
began
to
speak
hurriedly
and
urgently
.
“
If
Roger
were
to
go
to
New
Zealand
,
or
to
Australia
,
he
could
,
after
a
time
,
get
a
divorce
for
desertion
.
I
know
he
could
—
I
have
inquired
.
It
does
n't
seem
to
be
certain
what
effect
my
action
—
the
American
decree
,
I
mean
—
would
have
in
an
English
colony
.
My
lawyers
are
going
into
it
.
But
at
any
rate
there
is
the
desertion
.
And
then
”
—
she
grew
more
eager
—
“
if
he
married
abroad
—
in
the
Colony
—
the
marriage
would
be
valid
.
No
one
could
say
a
word
to
him
when
he
returned
to
England
.
”
French
looked
at
her
in
silence
.
She
went
on
—
with
the
unconscious
manner
of
one
accustomed
to
command
her
world
,
to
be
the
oracle
and
guide
of
subordinates
:
—
“
Could
we
not
induce
him
to
go
?
Could
you
not
?
Very
likely
he
would
refuse
to
see
me
;
and
,
of
course
,
he
has
,
most
unjustly
to
me
,
I
think
,
refused
to
take
any
money
from
me
.
But
the
money
might
be
provided
without
his
knowing
where
it
came
from
.
A
young
doctor
might
be
sent
with
him
—
some
nice
fellow
who
would
keep
him
amused
and
look
after
him
.
At
Heston
he
used
to
take
a
great
interest
in
farming
.
He
might
take
up
land
.
I
would
pay
anything
—
anything
!
He
might
suppose
it
came
from
some
friend
.
”
French
smiled
sadly
.
His
eyes
were
on
the
ground
.
She
bent
forward
.
“
I
beg
of
you
,
Mr.
French
,
not
to
set
yourself
against
me
!
Of
course
”
—
she
drew
herself
up
proudly
—
“
I
know
what
you
must
think
of
my
action
.
Our
views
are
different
,
irreconcilably
different
.
You
probably
think
all
divorce
wrong
.
We
think
,
in
America
,
that
a
marriage
which
has
become
a
burden
to
either
party
is
no
marriage
,
and
ought
to
cease
.
But
that
,
of
course
”
—
she
waved
a
rhetorical
hand
—
“
we
cannot
discuss
.
I
do
not
propose
for
a
moment
to
discuss
it
.
You
must
allow
me
my
national
point
of
view
.
But
surely
we
can
,
putting
all
that
aside
,
combine
to
help
Roger
?
”
“
To
marry
again
?
”
said
French
,
slowly
.
“
It
ca
n't
,
I
fear
,
be
done
—
what
you
propose
—
in
the
time
.
I
doubt
whether
Roger
has
two
years
to
live
.
”
Daphne
started
.
“
Roger
!
—
to
live
?
”
she
repeated
,
in
horror
.
“
What
is
really
the
matter
?
Surely
nothing
more
than
care
and
a
voyage
could
set
right
?
”
French
shook
his
head
.
“
We
have
been
anxious
about
him
for
some
time
.
That
terrible
attack
of
septic
pneumonia
in
New
York
,
as
we
now
know
,
left
the
heart
injured
and
the
lungs
weakened
.
He
was
badly
nursed
,
and
his
state
of
mind
at
the
time
—
his
misery
and
loneliness
—
left
him
little
chance
.
Then
the
drinking
habit
,
which
he
contracted
during
those
wretched
months
in
the
States
,
has
been
of
course
sorely
against
him
.
However
,
we
hoped
against
hope
—
Elsie
and
I
—
till
a
few
weeks
ago
.
Then
someone
,
we
do
n't
know
who
,
made
him
go
to
a
specialist
,
and
the
verdict
is
—
phthisis
;
not
very
advanced
,
but
certain
and
definite
.
And
the
general
outlook
is
not
favourable
.
”
Daphne
had
grown
pale
.
“
We
must
send
him
away
!
”
she
said
imperiously
.
“
We
must
!
A
voyage
,
a
good
doctor
,
a
dry
climate
,
would
save
him
,
of
course
they
would
!
Why
,
there
is
nothing
necessarily
fatal
now
in
phthisis
!
Nothing
!
It
is
absurd
to
talk
as
though
there
were
.
”
Again
French
looked
at
her
in
silence
.
But
as
she
had
lost
colour
,
he
had
gained
it
.
His
face
,
which
the
East
End
had
already
stamped
,
had
grown
rosy
,
his
eyes
sparkled
.
“
Oh
,
do
say
something
!
Tell
me
what
you
suggest
?
”
cried
Daphne
.
“
Do
you
really
wish
me
to
tell
you
what
I
suggest
?
”
Daphne
waited
,
her
eyes
first
imploring
,
then
beginning
to
shrink
.
He
bent
forward
and
touched
her
on
the
arm
.
“
Go
,
Mrs.
Barnes
,
and
ask
your
husband
's
forgiveness
!
What
will
come
of
it
I
do
not
know
.
But
you
,
at
least
,
will
have
done
something
to
set
yourself
right
—
with
God
.
”
The
Christian
and
the
priest
had
spoken
;
the
low
voice
in
its
intensity
had
seemed
to
ring
through
the
quiet
sun-flooded
room
.
Daphne
rose
,
trembling
with
resentment
and
antagonism
.
“
It
is
you
,
then
,
Mr.
French
,
who
make
it
impossible
for
me
to
discuss
—
to
help
.
I
shall
have
to
see
if
I
can
find
some
other
means
of
carrying
out
my
purpose
.
”
There
was
a
voice
outside
.
Daphne
turned
.
“
Who
is
that
?
”
French
ran
to
the
glass
door
that
opened
on
to
the
verandah
,
and
,
trying
for
an
ordinary
tone
,
waved
somebody
back
who
was
approaching
from
without
.
Elsie
came
quickly
round
the
corner
of
the
house
,
calling
to
the
newcomer
.
But
Daphne
saw
who
it
was
and
took
her
own
course
.
She
,
too
,
went
to
the
window
,
and
,
passing
French
,
she
stepped
into
the
verandah
.
“
Roger
!
”
A
man
hurried
through
the
dusk
.
There
was
an
exclamation
,
a
silence
.
By
this
time
French
was
on
the
lawn
,
his
wife
's
quivering
hand
in
his
.
Daphne
retreated
slowly
into
the
study
and
Roger
Barnes
followed
her
.
“
Leave
them
alone
,
”
said
French
,
and
putting
an
arm
round
his
wife
he
led
her
resolutely
away
,
out
of
sound
and
sight
.
Barnes
stood
silent
,
breathing
heavily
and
leaning
on
the
back
of
a
chair
.
The
western
light
from
a
side
window
struck
full
on
him
.
But
Daphne
,
the
wave
of
excitement
spent
,
was
not
looking
at
him
.
She
had
fallen
upon
a
sofa
,
her
face
was
in
her
hands
.
“
What
do
you
want
with
me
?
”
said
Roger
at
last
.
Then
,
in
a
sudden
heat
,
“
By
God
,
I
never
wished
to
see
you
again
!
”
Daphne
's
muffled
voice
came
through
her
fingers
:
“
I
know
that
.
You
need
n't
tell
me
so
!
”
Roger
turned
away
.
“
You
'll
admit
it
's
an
intrusion
?
”
he
said
fiercely
.
“
I
do
n't
see
what
you
and
I
have
got
to
do
with
each
other
now
.
”
Daphne
struggled
for
self-control
.
After
all
,
she
had
always
managed
him
in
the
old
days
.
She
would
manage
him
now
.
“
Roger
—
I
—
I
did
n't
come
to
discuss
the
past
.
That
's
done
with
.
But
—
I
heard
things
about
you
—
that
—
”
“
You
did
n't
like
?
”
he
laughed
.
“
I
'm
sorry
,
but
I
do
n't
see
what
you
have
to
do
with
them
.
”
Daphne
's
hand
fidgeted
with
her
dress
,
her
eyes
still
cast
down
.
“
Could
n't
we
talk
without
bitterness
?
Just
for
ten
minutes
?
It
was
from
Captain
Boyson
that
I
heard
—
”
“
Oh
,
Boyson
,
was
that
it
?
And
he
got
his
information
from
French
—
poor
old
Herbert
.
Well
,
it
's
quite
true
.
I
'm
no
longer
fit
for
your
—
or
his
—
or
anybody
's
society
.
”
He
threw
himself
into
an
armchair
,
calmly
took
a
cigarette
out
of
a
box
that
lay
near
,
and
lit
it
.
Daphne
at
last
ventured
to
look
at
him
.
The
first
and
dominant
impression
was
of
something
shrunken
and
diminished
.
His
blue
flannel
suit
hung
loose
on
his
shoulders
and
chest
,
his
athlete
's
limbs
.
His
features
had
been
thinned
and
graved
and
scooped
by
fever
and
broken
nights
;
all
the
noble
line
and
proportion
was
still
there
,
but
for
one
who
had
known
him
of
old
the
effect
was
no
longer
beautiful
but
ghastly
.
Daphne
stared
at
him
in
dismay
.
He
on
his
side
observed
his
visitor
,
but
with
a
cooler
curiosity
.
Like
French
he
noticed
the
signs
of
change
,
the
dying
down
of
brilliance
and
of
bloom
.
To
go
your
own
way
,
as
Daphne
had
done
,
did
not
seem
to
conduce
to
a
woman
's
good
looks
.
At
last
he
threw
in
a
dry
interrogation
:
“
Well
?
”
“
I
came
to
try
and
help
you
,
”
Daphne
broke
out
,
turning
her
head
away
,
“
to
ask
Mr.
French
what
I
could
do
.
It
made
me
unhappy
—
”
“
Did
it
?
”
He
laughed
again
.
“
I
do
n't
see
why
.
Oh
,
you
need
n't
trouble
yourself
.
Elsie
and
Herbert
are
awfully
good
to
me
.
They
're
all
I
want
,
or
at
any
rate
,
”
he
hesitated
a
moment
,
“
they
're
all
I
shall
want
—
from
now
on
.
Anyway
,
you
know
there
'd
be
something
grotesque
in
your
trying
your
hand
at
reforming
me
.
”
“
I
did
n't
mean
anything
of
the
kind
!
”
she
protested
,
stung
by
his
tone
.
“
I
—
I
wanted
to
suggest
something
practical
—
some
way
by
which
you
might
—
release
yourself
from
me
—
and
also
recover
your
health
.
”
“
Release
myself
from
you
?
”
he
repeated
.
“
That
's
easier
said
than
done
.
Did
you
mean
to
send
me
to
the
Colonies
—
was
that
your
idea
?
”
His
smile
was
hard
to
bear
.
But
she
went
on
,
choking
,
yet
determined
:
“
That
seems
to
be
the
only
way
—
in
English
law
.
Why
should
n't
you
take
it
?
The
voyage
,
the
new
climate
,
would
probably
set
you
up
again
.
You
need
only
be
away
a
short
time
.
”
He
looked
at
her
in
silence
a
moment
,
fingering
his
cigarette
.
“
Thank
you
,
”
he
said
at
last
,
“
thank
you
.
And
I
suppose
you
offered
us
money
?
You
told
Herbert
you
would
pay
all
expenses
?
Oh
,
do
n't
be
angry
!
I
did
n't
mean
anything
uncivil
.
But
,
”
he
raised
himself
with
energy
from
his
lounging
position
,
“
at
the
same
time
,
perhaps
you
ought
to
know
that
I
would
sooner
die
a
thousand
times
over
than
take
a
single
silver
sixpence
that
belonged
to
you
!
”
Their
eyes
met
,
his
quite
calm
,
hers
sparkling
with
resentment
and
pain
.
“
Of
course
I
ca
n't
argue
with
you
if
you
meet
me
in
that
tone
,
”
she
said
passionately
.
“
But
I
should
have
thought
—
”
“
Besides
,
”
he
interrupted
her
,
“
you
say
it
is
the
only
way
.
You
are
quite
mistaken
.
It
is
not
the
only
way
.
As
far
as
freeing
me
goes
,
you
could
divorce
me
to-morrow
—
here
—
if
you
liked
.
I
have
been
unfaithful
to
you
.
A
strange
way
of
putting
it
—
at
the
present
moment
—
between
you
and
me
!
But
that
's
how
it
would
appear
in
the
English
courts
.
And
as
to
the
‘cruelty’
—
that
would
n't
give
you
any
trouble
!
”
Daphne
had
flushed
deeply
.
It
was
only
by
a
great
effort
that
she
maintained
her
composure
.
Her
eyes
avoided
him
.
“
Mrs.
Fairmile
?
”
she
said
in
a
low
voice
.
He
threw
back
his
head
with
a
sound
of
scorn
.
“
Mrs.
Fairmile
!
You
do
n't
mean
to
tell
me
,
Daphne
,
to
my
face
,
that
you
ever
believed
any
of
the
lies
—
forgive
the
expression
—
that
you
,
and
your
witnesses
,
and
your
lawyers
,
told
in
the
States
—
that
you
bribed
those
precious
newspapers
to
tell
?
”
“
Of
course
I
believed
it
!
”
she
said
fiercely
.
“
And
as
for
lies
,
it
was
you
who
began
them
.
”
“
You
believed
that
I
had
betrayed
you
with
Chloe
Fairmile
?
”
He
raised
himself
again
,
fixing
his
strange
deep-set
gaze
upon
her
.
“
I
never
said
—
”
“
No
!
To
that
length
you
did
n't
quite
go
.
I
admit
it
.
You
were
able
to
get
your
way
without
it
.
”
He
sank
back
in
his
chair
again
.
“
No
,
my
remark
had
nothing
to
do
with
Chloe
.
I
have
never
set
eyes
on
her
since
I
left
you
at
Heston
.
But
—
there
was
a
girl
,
a
shop-girl
,
a
poor
little
thing
,
rather
pretty
.
I
came
across
her
about
six
months
ago
—
it
does
n't
matter
how
.
She
loves
me
,
she
was
awfully
good
to
me
,
a
regular
little
brick
.
Some
day
I
shall
tell
Herbert
all
about
her
—
not
yet
—
though
,
of
course
,
he
suspects
.
She
'd
serve
your
purpose
,
if
you
thought
it
worth
while
.
But
you
wo
n't
—
”
“
You
're
—
living
with
her
—
now
?
”
“
No.
I
broke
with
her
a
fortnight
ago
,
after
I
'd
seen
those
doctors
.
She
made
me
see
them
,
poor
little
soul
.
Then
I
went
to
say
goodbye
to
her
,
and
she
,
”
his
voice
shook
a
little
,
“
she
took
it
hard
.
But
it
's
all
right
.
I
'm
not
going
to
risk
her
life
,
or
saddle
her
with
a
dying
man
.
She
's
with
her
sister
.
She
'll
get
over
it
.
”
He
turned
his
head
towards
the
window
,
his
eyes
pursued
the
white
sails
on
the
darkening
blue
outside
.
“
It
's
been
a
bad
business
,
but
it
was
n't
altogether
my
fault
.
I
saved
her
from
someone
else
,
and
she
saved
me
,
once
or
twice
,
from
blowing
my
brains
out
.
”
“
What
did
the
doctors
say
to
you
?
”
asked
Daphne
,
brusquely
,
after
a
pause
.
“
They
gave
me
about
two
years
,
”
he
said
,
indifferently
,
turning
to
knock
off
the
end
of
his
cigarette
.
“
That
does
n't
matter
.
”
Then
,
as
his
eyes
caught
her
face
,
a
sudden
animation
sprang
into
his
.
He
drew
his
chair
nearer
to
her
and
threw
away
his
cigarette
.
“
Look
here
,
Daphne
,
do
n't
let
's
waste
time
.
We
shall
never
see
each
other
again
,
and
there
are
a
number
of
things
I
want
to
know
.
Tell
me
everything
you
can
remember
about
Beatty
that
last
six
months
—
and
about
her
illness
,
you
understand
—
never
mind
repeating
what
you
told
Boyson
,
and
he
told
me
.
But
there
's
lots
more
,
there
must
be
.
Did
she
ever
ask
for
me
?
Boyson
said
you
could
n't
remember
.
But
you
must
remember
!
”
He
came
closer
still
,
his
threatening
eyes
upon
her
.
And
as
he
did
so
,
the
dark
presence
of
ruin
and
death
,
of
things
damning
and
irrevocable
,
which
had
been
hovering
over
their
conversation
,
approached
with
him
—
flapped
their
sombre
wings
in
Daphne
's
face
.
She
trembled
all
over
.
“
Yes
,
”
she
said
,
faintly
,
“
she
did
ask
for
you
.
”
“
Ah
!
”
He
gave
a
cry
of
delight
.
“
Tell
me
—
tell
me
at
once
—
everything
—
from
the
beginning
!
”
And
held
by
his
will
,
she
told
him
everything
—
all
the
piteous
story
of
the
child
's
last
days
—
sobbing
herself
;
and
for
the
first
time
making
much
of
the
little
one
's
signs
of
remembering
her
father
,
instead
of
minimising
and
ignoring
them
,
as
she
had
done
in
the
talk
with
Boyson
.
It
was
as
though
for
the
first
time
she
were
trying
to
stanch
a
wound
instead
of
widening
it
.
He
listened
eagerly
.
The
two
heads
—
of
the
father
and
mother
—
drew
closer
;
one
might
have
thought
them
lovers
still
,
united
by
tender
and
sacred
memories
.
But
at
last
Roger
drew
himself
away
.
He
rose
to
his
feet
.
“
I
'll
forgive
you
much
for
that
!
”
he
said
with
a
long
breath
.
“
Will
you
write
it
for
me
—
some
day
—
all
you
've
told
me
?
”
She
made
a
sign
of
assent
.
“
Well
,
now
,
you
must
n't
stay
here
any
longer
.
I
suppose
you
've
got
a
carriage
?
And
we
must
n't
meet
again
.
There
's
no
object
in
it
.
But
I
'll
remember
that
you
came
.
”
She
looked
at
him
.
In
her
nature
the
great
deeps
were
breaking
up
.
She
saw
him
as
she
had
seen
him
in
her
first
youth
.
And
,
at
last
,
what
she
had
done
was
plain
to
her
.
With
a
cry
she
threw
herself
on
the
floor
beside
him
.
She
pressed
his
hand
in
hers
.
“
Roger
,
let
me
stay
!
Let
me
nurse
you
!
”
she
panted
.
“
I
did
n't
understand
.
Let
me
be
your
friend
!
Let
me
help
!
I
implore
—
I
implore
you
!
”
He
hesitated
a
moment
,
then
he
lifted
her
to
her
feet
decidedly
,
but
not
unkindly
.
“
What
do
you
mean
?
”
he
said
,
slowly
.
“
Do
you
mean
that
you
wish
us
to
be
husband
and
wife
again
?
You
are
,
of
course
,
my
wife
,
in
the
eye
of
English
law
,
at
this
moment
.
”
“
Let
me
try
and
help
you
!
”
she
pleaded
again
,
breaking
into
bitter
tears
.
“
I
did
n't
—
I
did
n't
understand
!
”
He
shook
his
head
.
“
You
ca
n't
help
me
.
I
—
I
'm
afraid
I
could
n't
bear
it
.
We
must
n't
meet
.
It
—
it
's
gone
too
deep
.
”
He
thrust
his
hands
into
his
pockets
and
walked
away
to
the
window
.
She
stood
helplessly
weeping
.
When
he
returned
he
was
quite
composed
again
.
“
Do
n't
cry
so
,
”
he
said
,
calmly
.
“
It
's
done
.
We
ca
n't
help
it
.
And
do
n't
make
yourself
too
unhappy
about
me
.
I
've
had
awful
times
.
When
I
was
ill
in
New
York
—
it
was
like
hell
.
The
pain
was
devilish
,
and
I
was
n't
used
to
being
alone
,
and
nobody
caring
a
damn
,
and
everybody
believing
me
a
cad
and
a
bully
.
But
I
got
over
that
.
It
was
Beatty
's
death
that
hit
me
so
hard
,
and
that
I
was
n't
there
.
It
's
that
,
somehow
,
I
ca
n't
get
over
—
that
you
did
it
—
that
you
could
have
had
the
heart
.
It
would
always
come
between
us
.
No
,
we
're
better
apart
.
But
I
'll
tell
you
something
to
comfort
you
.
I
've
given
up
that
girl
,
as
I
've
told
you
,
and
I
've
given
up
drink
.
Herbert
wo
n't
believe
it
,
but
he
'll
find
it
is
so
.
And
I
do
n't
mean
to
die
before
my
time
.
I
'm
going
out
to
Switzerland
directly
.
I
'll
do
all
the
correct
things
.
You
see
,
when
a
man
knows
he
's
going
to
die
—
well
,
”
he
turned
