One burning glance she casts at him.
"Do not let us waste time," says she. "Tell me plainly why you came here, why you want to see me."
"You give me little encouragement to speak"—bitterly. "But it is this: I want you to come back to me, to be mistress of my house again. I"—he pauses as if seeking words—"I have bought a new house; I want you to come and be the head of it."
Tita has been listening to him with wide eyes. She had grown pale as death itself during his speech, and now she recoils from him. She makes a little movement as though to repel him for ever, and then, suddenly she covers her eyes with her hands, and bursts into violent weeping.
"Oh no! No!" gasps she. "Never! Never again! How could you ask me!"
He takes a step towards her, and lays his hand upon her arm.
"No, don't touch me. Don't speak to me," cries she. "I have had to see you to-day, and it has been terrible to me—so terrible that I hope I shall never see you again. I could not bear it. Go—go away!"
"Do not send me from you like this," entreats Rylton, in a voice that trembles. Her tears cut him to the heart. He is so close to her that he has only to put out his hand to catch her—to take her to him, and yet——"Think, Tita! We have got to live out our lives, whether we like it or not. Can we not live them out together?"
"We cannot," says Tita, in a low but distinct voice. She turns to him proudly. "Have you forgotten?" says she. Her poor little face is stained with tears, but he sees no disfigurement in it; he has but one desire, and that is to take her into his arms and kiss those tears away from it for ever.
"Forget! Do you think I shall ever forget? It is my curse that I shall always remember. But that is at an end, Tita. I swear it! I hope I shall never see her again. If you wish it—I——"