She shook her head instantly. "I don't know what I shall do, Jake. I--I must go back and think."
She mustered her strength and made as if she would rise, but he checked her.
"Wait!" he said. "I haven't refused--yet. Lean back and rest a bit! I've got to do some thinking too."
She obeyed him because it seemed that he must be obeyed. He got to his feet.
"Poor girl!" he said gently. "It hasn't been easy for you, has it? Reckon you've just been driven to me for refuge. I'm the nearest port, that's all."
"The only port," Maud answered, with a shiver.
"All right," he said. "It's a safe one. But--" He left the sentence unfinished and turned to the window.
She lay back with closed eyes, counting the hard throbs of her heart while she waited. He was very quiet, standing behind her with his face to the storm-driven clouds. She longed to know what was passing in his mind, but she could not break the silence. It held her like a spell while the clock on the mantelpiece ticked the dragging minutes away. She whispered to her racing heart that the moment he moved she would rise and go. But while the silence lasted she could not bring herself to stir. She was worn out physically and mentally, almost too weary for thought.
He moved at length rather suddenly, wheeled round before she was aware, and came back to the fire.
"Don't get up!" he said. "You look ready to drop, and you may just as well hear what I have to say sitting. It won't make a mite of difference."