Her whole scheme of life had crumbled under them here on this little terrace; she must get him away from it.
“Maurice, come to our woods with me,” she pleaded. “Come and sit in the shade behind our chapel. We shall be alone there, and less unhappy.”
He made up his mind abruptly that he would listen to her.
“Yes, let’s get away from here,” he said.
The rays of the sun coming through the pines marked bands of clear light on the leaf-strewn ground. On the shadowy path they lay like golden puddles that must be stepped across. Edith led him round the chapel, and searched out a mossy corner a little to one side, making her lover be seated there. She took his face in her hands and covered it with kisses, and he seemed to yield to her caresses a moment, then suddenly thrust her off.
“No, leave me, Edith. Please don’t. When your lips press mine I’ve no more force of will. I am just nothing any more, only a beating heart.”
“I love you,” she moaned.
“That’s just it. I love you.”
He stood up, and half wildly pointed out the lake to her, where it lay glowing through the trees. Already Edith was trembling, and divined the temptation that was upon him.
“But I love you more than ever before,” she coaxed. “You may command me and I’ll obey. I’ll listen.”