He laid his own upon the table before her, upturned, ready to clasp hers. His face was bent so low over her that his lips were almost on her hair. She could have yielded herself to his arms without effort.
But she only stiffened at his action, and became intensely still. In the seconds that followed she did not so much as breathe. She was as one turned to stone.
For the space of a full minute he waited; and through it the wild beating of her heart rose up in the stillness, throbbing audibly. But still she sat before him mutely, making no sign.
Then, after what seemed to her an eternity of waiting, very quietly he straightened himself and took his hand away.
She shrank away involuntarily with a nervous contraction of her whole body. For that moment she was unspeakably afraid.
But he gave her no cause for fear. He bore himself with absolute self-possession.
"Very well," he said. "That ends it. You are free."
With the words he turned deliberately from her, walked to the door, passed quietly out. And she was left alone.