Inwardly I was alarmed--
dismayed. Her extreme nervousness, and the physical effect upon her,
frightened me. With crushing force and clearness came back to me the
remembrance of the fearless, eager, unrestrained abandonment of body
and mind, the gay exuberance of careless passion, with all the
vigour of youth and health in it, that had leapt up to meet my
caress a year ago,--and been refused. We passed on to a door on the
other side of the corridor, which opened to another sitting-room. A
lovely evening had given way to a lovelier night. Beyond the long
window panes, set open to the still air, we caught sight of the
sinking golden crescent of the moon towards the south; above and all
round, to the low horizon, the sky was crowded, sparkling, and
brilliant with stars. I moved two chairs close up to the open
window, but she stood by the sill and leaned forward to the night
air.
"You think me very silly?" she said, with her head turned away from
me.
"I think you are not well, dearest," I said, gently.
There was silence. Words seemed frozen on my lips. A sort of terror
filled me of exciting or embarrassing her. I stood beside the window
frame watching her. After a minute or two she dropped back into a
chair and looked up at me with a laugh.
"I think I am all right, only you startled me! By the way, Victor,
if anything ever does happen to me, you will remember you have your
work and your talent to turn to, won't you? I mean you would not do
anything desperate.
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