"Doris, darling, won't you change your mind? I'm miserable without you."
And then very suddenly Doris found her voice. She spoke with breathless entreaty. "Hugh, don't—don't! I can't listen to you. I married Jeff Ironside this morning."
His hand fell. He stared at her as if he thought her mad. "You—married—Jeff Ironside! I don't believe it!"
She clenched her hands tightly to still her agitation. "But it's true," she said.
"Doris!" he said.
She nodded vehemently, keeping her eyes on his. "It's true," she said again.
He straightened himself up with the instinctive movement of a man bracing himself to meet a sudden strain. "But why? How? I didn't even know you knew the man."
She nodded again. "He helped me once when I was out cubbing, and I went to his house. After that—when he heard that I had nothing to live on—he came and asked me if I would marry him. And I was very miserable because nobody wanted me. So I said 'Yes.'"
Her voice sank. Her lips were quivering.