“Scuffling in the dark!” she said scornfully.
He fondled her hand.
“It isn’t dark now,” he said.
“No. But there is no one to heed us. Presently we shall go back. I shall walk on ahead,—or follow—whichever suits you; and for the rest of the evening we shall be distantly formal.” She faced him with an expression of hard resentment in her eyes. “You may find it amusing,” she added bitterly; “but to me it is only humiliating. I wish you would leave me alone.”
He sat up, and drawing his knees up, clasped them with his arms.
“Perverse!” he murmured, watching the encroachment of the waves with a seemingly absorbed interest, and evading the girl’s scornful, accusative gaze. “And I believed she was going to be sweet... My dear girl,” he exclaimed, suddenly facing about, “you have made two misstatements which it behoves me to correct. We are not going to spend a formal evening,—we are going for a walk in the moonlight. You are not going to precede me, nor will I permit you to follow me off the beach now. We return together. It would be far more indiscreet to pursue the tactics you have laid down, as it will be far pleasanter to adopt mine. Better leave yourself in my hands, my dear. My knowledge of the world is more profound than yours. The greater length of time I have lived in it justifies that assumption. And my experience of life has taught me that to deny oneself a single pleasure for the sake of some foolish scruple is wasteful; it only brings regret, and profits one nothing. The moral is obvious.”
“That is an unworkable theory,” she answered.
“Not so,” he returned. “Take our own case, for instance. We enjoy being together. What do we gain by denying ourselves that pleasure? Nothing. What do we lose by making the most of these opportunities? Nothing. It is absurd to lead a life of suppressions, to deny one’s self enjoyment, for purely imaginary reasons. I delight in your friendship. I like you, your quiet, dark-eyed thoughtfulness. I think you would be kind to me, only you won’t allow yourself to be kind. Why? Can’t you see that I stand in need of your friendship?”
“There is your wife,” she reminded him.
He made an impatient sound, and looked annoyed.