She followed his movements, saw him stretch his hand for the hat, and cried,
“Oh, don’t go—don’t go this way—don’t be angry with me—let me explain.”
He turned and looked at her with a face grown cold and hard.
“What is there to explain? I want you to be my wife. You don’t want to. That’s the whole matter.”
“Oh, no it isn’t. It’s not like it was the other time. I didn’t care then, but I do now, more than you think, much more. Everything’s different. I can’t bear to have you go. I can’t bear to lose you.”
“Is that the reason you’ve looked so pleased whenever I came? Was that the reason you told me just now that you wanted me to come so much you didn’t think I would? I’ve been a fool, no doubt, but it seems to me that a smarter man than I might have thought you meant it.”
She flushed deeply, up to her hair.
“I did mean it,” she said in a low voice.
Hope sprang to his face and he came close to her:
“Then if you meant it, say you love me, say you’ll marry me. That’s the only thing I want you to say to me.”