“The fact is,” he announced brutally, “I wanted to get rid of you, and that seemed the only way.”
She winced a little at his words, but interposed sharply:
“Why did you want to get rid of me?”
He grunted something incoherent, and began to walk towards the door.
“Look here,” he said, “we’ll go for a walk. I’m not going to have you quarrelling in here.”
“But surely we aren’t going to quarrel?”
“On the contrary, we are going to quarrel. We’re going to quarrel most damnably.... Come on!”
He led her back down the steps into the kitchen. Helen was there preparing a meal. As he passed he addressed her.
“Miss Weston and I are going out for a stroll along the sea-wall, Helen.... We shan’t be long. Miss Weston has to get back to town to-night, so she hasn’t got much time to spare.”
“You’ve missed the last train already,” replied Helen.