"You do not need to be told that sooner or later all of us have troubles that we think we cannot bear."
She shook her head wearily: "It does not do any good to think of that! It does not help me in the least!"
"But it does help if there is any one to whom we can tell our troubles."
"I cannot tell mine."
"Cannot you tell me?"
"No, I believe I wish you knew, but I could not tell you. No, I do not even wish you to know."
"Have you seen Kate?"
She covered her face with her hands again: "No, no, no," she cried, "not Kate!" Then she looked up at him with eyes suddenly kindling: "Have you heard what Kate's life has been since her marriage?"
"We have all heard, I suppose."
"She has never spoken a word against him—not even to me from whom she never had a secret. How could I go to her about Rowan? Even if she had confided in me, I could not tell her this."