“I do mean it.”
“She wouldn’t allow it.”
“She’d have to if I forced her; when I’d forced her, she’d be glad.”
“But it’s impossible. It isn’t honorable.”
“Honorable! If we’d been honorable, you and I, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“But think what people would say?”
“What people would say doesn’t matter. There are some things which go so deep that they concern only ourselves.”
“But Vi—before ever we decide anything, it would be honest to consult her.”
“You had her decision to-night.” He spoke bitterly, with settled finality. “You see it’s this way: I’ve tried to make her happy; because of you I never shall. She wants you; she’s a right to have you.”
The fire had all but gone out; the room had grown chilly. We sat without talking, thinking of her, reviewing the brutal cruelties of life. I had reached the logical goal of my desire—the impossible had happened.