He glanced at her beneath his brows. The wind was in the north-east, dry and tingling. The sun had worn a coppery hue all day. Such matters affect women and those who are in mental distress. After such a day as had at last worn to evening, the mind is at a great tension, the nerves are strained. It is at such times that men fly into sudden anger and whip out the knife. At such times women are reckless, and the stories of human lives take sudden turns.
Concha knew that he had this woman at a disadvantage.
‘What?’ he echoed. ‘I wish I knew. I wish at times I was no priest.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I could help you better. Sometimes it is the man and not the priest who is the truest friend.’
‘Why do you speak like this?’ she cried. ‘Is there danger? What has happened?’
‘You know best, my child, if there is danger; you know what is likely to happen.’
Julia stood looking at him with hard eyes—the eyes of one in mortal fear.
‘You have always been my friend,’ she said slowly, ‘my best friend.’
‘Yes. A woman’s lover is never her best friend.’