"What happened last night shall be—as though it had not happened."
"Could you ever forget it?"
"I didn't say I should forget it. I suppose I couldn't do that any more than you. I said it should be as though it hadn't been."
"And what about Dorothea?"
"That must be as it may."
"You mean that Dorothea would have to take her chance."
"She needn't know anything about it—yet."
"You couldn't keep it from her forever."
"No. But she'll probably marry soon. After that she'll understand things better."
"That is, she'll understand the position in which you've been placed—that you could hardly have acted otherwise."