He knelt down, and dashed the cold sea-water over his face and head, not once, but several times. When he stood up, his brain was cool and steady.
“I must either go to her,” he thought, “or despise myself. It is not an intrusion; I certainly have my rights.”
He went rapidly round the bend, and lifted her from the stone before she was aware of his presence, then held her at arm’s length, a hand on each shoulder.
The fixity left the muscles of her face. They relaxed in terror.
“What is your secret?” he demanded, peremptorily. “Have you had a lover—a child? Is that it?”
“No.”
“On your word of honour?”
“Yes.”
“Are your parents unmarried?”