She made no response, and he placed his arms gently round her and lifted her till she lay in his clasp, her head drooped on his shoulder.
The movement revived her sufficiently for her to know what was happening.
A long-drawn sigh escaped her lips and she essayed to stand alone.
"No, Jess, no. Lean on me. You must get back home and rest. You have overdone it," he whispered.
"Fred! You!"
The arms that had hung lifeless wreathed round his neck, the head that had dropped on his shoulder nestled close and the white face upturned.
"Oh, take me away, Fred, take me away from this horror—anywhere, anywhere, so that I may be with you."
"Hush, Jess, hush. You must not talk like that," he whispered, the strength of the grip with which he held her and the soft tremor of his voice giving her the lie to his words.
"Darling, I must," she answered. "Give me freedom from the misery that man has brought into my life. Oh, you do not know what it has been and is still. You heard what the doctor said."
She shuddered as she recalled the words.