“Now,” he said quietly, “you and I are friends again, aren’t we?”
She nodded. There was the grating of a key in the lock of the front door. They both waited in silence. Then there were footsteps in the hall.
“Mrs. Tebbutt!” he called. He was tremendously, inexpressibly relieved at her arrival.
Mrs. Tebbutt, discreet as always, opened the door and entered.
“You might come and clear these things away, will you?” he said, in a perfectly ordinary tone.
“Very good, sir.”
The spell was broken.
Catherine did not stay long after that. Conversation between them was difficult because it was carefully commonplace. Mrs. Tebbutt kept coming in and out. And when Catherine left, his handshake at the gate was just normally cordial, neither more nor less so than usual....