Yet the mere announcement of her name sufficed to shatter his resolve. Her smile, her soft accents, her polished manners, laid the old spell upon him. He sought to excuse himself for having forsaken her in her trial.
‘It really floored me. I didn’t know what to say or do. I was afraid you might think I was meddling with what didn’t concern me.’
‘Oh, how could I have thought that? It has made me ill; I have suffered more than I can tell you.’
‘You don’t look quite the thing,’ said Crewe, searching her face.
‘Have you heard all?’
‘I think so. He is married, and that’s the end of it, I suppose.’
Mrs. Damerel winced at this blunt announcement.
‘When was it?’ she asked, in an undertone. ‘I only knew he had made up his mind.’
Crewe mentioned the date; the day after Nancy’s call upon her.
‘And are they at Bournemouth?’