Then came two or three letters. In her agony over the thought of losing him, she was willing to break down the last reserve. But he did not answer the letters.
At the same time the thought came to him of going up the Nile in a dahabiyeh. He was bored and had a cold.
On the evening of his departure he found her waiting in his rooms.
"What do you want?"
"Take me along."
"How do you know?"
"Take me along."
She said nothing else.
The necessity of comforting her was clear. A thoroughgoing farewell was celebrated, with the understanding that it was a farewell forever.
The pact had been kept. After his return and for two years more she had given no sign of life. He now thought of this woman. He felt a poignant longing for the ripe sweetness of her oval face, the veiled depth of her voice. He desired once more to be embraced by her firm arms, to be kissed by her mad, hesitating lips.