'On the contrary.'
"She was aware of his slight change of position without turning her eyes."
He said nothing more, and she did not speak, but walked on without haste, dilating her nostrils to the sweet smell of grass that reached her already. In a little while they had left the houses behind them, and they came to a gate that led into a field. [{171}]
Van Torp was going to undo the fastening, for there was no lock.
'No,' she said, 'we won't go through. I love to lean on a gate.'
She rested her crossed arms on the upper rail and Van Torp did the same, careful that his elbow should not touch hers, and they both stared into the dim, sweet-scented meadow. He felt her presence now and it almost hurt him; he could hear his slow pulse in his ears, hard and regular. She did not speak, but the night was so still that he could hear her breathing, and at last he could not bear the warm silence any longer.
'What are you thinking about?' he asked, trying to speak lightly.
She waited, or hesitated, before she answered him.