Again she put out a hand, and this time she slipped it into his. He sat holding it, waiting in an attitude of strained alertness for her answer.
“It is because I like you so well,” she said, “that I am reluctant to marry you. I can’t give you a fair return. My dear, I’ve loved... There never could be any one else in my life—not in the same way.”
For a moment he remained silent. He still held her hand; but he was not looking at her; he stared thoughtfully down at the carpet reflecting on what she had said. Then abruptly he released her hand and sat up.
“I’ll take what you’ll give,” he said resolutely.
She made no answer. She could not speak just then for the emotion which gripped her. There were tears in her eyes. He leaned over her and very tenderly kissed the tears away.
Book Four—Chapter Twenty Nine.
It surprised no one, and gave considerable satisfaction to her relations, when Esmé, quite soon after Sinclair’s return to South Africa, was married to the man who had been her faithful lover for over eight years.
On the evening before her marriage she discussed the matter and her feelings quite frankly with Rose.