"No, no, no," she said, freeing her hands, shrinking from him. "No. I don't—I don't."
"But you do. You said you did. You—you showed that you did."
He waited, triumphant, anxious, breathless.
"No, no, no. I did n't say it—I did n't mean it."
"But you did mean it. Your eyes . . ."
But when he remembered her eyes, speech deserted him. He could only gasp and tingle.
"No, no, no," she said. "I meant nothing. Please—please don't come so near. Stand up—there" (her hand indicated where), "and we will speak of it—reasonably."
Her hand remained suspended, enjoining obedience.
Anthony, perplexed, dashed a little, obeyed, and stood before her.
"We must be reasonable," she said. "I meant nothing. If I seemed moved, it was because—oh, because I was so taken by surprise, I suppose."