Jeff looked up at her and then found some reassurance in the fact that the silence was thus broken. “I’ve been expecting you’d tell me without asking,” he said, smiling faintly at her.
“I ought to,” she nodded. “But there’s so much to tell; and it must sound so incredible to you. I hid in your car at the wharf, blindly, not knowing who you were. I had to get away; wanted to get away. Anywhere. To hide. For a little while. I can pay you.” She spoke uncertainly, unwilling to give offense.
Jeff shook his head good-humoredly. “I don’t run a boarding house, ma’am.”
“I have to find some place where I can stay.”
He was thoughtfully silent for a little, then asked, “How long?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps only a little while.”
“I guess you can stay here a while,” he said.
“You spoke of your wife?” she suggested.
“She’s visiting my daughter, over in Augusta,” Jeff explained. “Won’t be back for a week anyways. I reckon it’d be easier for you if she was here; but you’re welcome anyways.”
She looked down helplessly at the gown she wore. “It was a mad thing to do,” she whispered, half to herself. Jeff guessed what she was thinking.