"But it is bothering you."
"I know."
"It may not prove as unpleasant as you imagine."
"That is unlikely."
"If I were you I should prefer to know the worst; and if I trusted any one as you say you trust me——"
"Trust you! Nan, I——"
He had halted abruptly; but it was her face that stopped his tongue.
"Hush!" she commanded. "I have heard enough of all that, enough to last me all my life; but if you trust me as a friend, as you've said you do and promised you will, you might take me into your trouble, open your letter, and let us face whatever it contains together."
His tongue clove in his head; with a ghastly laugh he managed to refuse at last. Her curiosity was now on fire. And to gratify the sudden passion she stooped to a level of which she was very soon and very bitterly ashamed.
"If you ever want me to feel differently toward you—ever, ever, when we are both middle-aged people—you must begin by trusting me now!"