"Be quiet, Helen. There is nothing on God's earth that you could be guilty of that I could reproach you for. Now, be perfectly calm and tell me about it. And remember that I love you."
He says it all in a very matter of fact tone, and it has an immediate effect on her. She ceases sobbing. After a moment, she says:
"You remember a conversation we had years ago, at the cottage in Thebes? You told me of the dearest wish of your heart—and said it must not be fulfilled then—"
She stops speaking. She loses no expression of his face. He says quietly:
"Yes; well?"
His voice tells nothing, but her hands are in his, and he forgets it and suddenly tightens his fingers. She says slowly, in a mechanical way:
"Yes."
She knows that he has understood. He knows by her reply that she knows it.
He puts his arms about her, and draws her gently to him—but she has seen an expression in his face that she never forgets.