“Oh! I love you!” he said. “Forgive me if I am unreasonable or foolish. I can’t help it. You came so unexpectedly, so wonderfully! And you see I lost my head as well as my heart. I have so little to offer you—and I want so much.”
Her hands rested for a moment caressingly upon his shoulders. A whole world of wonderful things was shining out of her eyes. It was only her lips that were cruel.
“My dear boy,” she said, “you want what I may not give. I am very, very sorry. I think there must have been some sorcery in the air that night, the spell of the roses must have crept into my blood. I am sorry for what I did. I am very sorry that I did not leave you alone.”
He rose heavily to his feet. His face was grey with suffering.
“I ought to have known,” he said. “I think that I did know.”
“All the same,” she continued, laying her hand upon his arm, “I think that you are a rank extremist.”
He shook his head.
“I don’t understand,” he said.
“Shall I teach you?” she whispered.
He flung her hand away.