“No, she knew that I approved. She did think of it first. She did propose it....”
When he spoke again there was a faint hint of bitterness in his voice. “I’m sure she did. I only hope she’ll stop her mischief with this. In any case, she’s had a victory over Cassie ... and that’s what she wanted, more than anything....” He turned toward her sharply, with an air of anxiety. “I suppose he’ll take her away with him?”
“Yes. They’re going to Paris first and then to the Argentine.”
Suddenly he touched her shoulder with the odd, shy gesture of affection. “It’ll be hard for you, Olivia dear ... without her.”
The sudden action brought a lump into her throat, and yet she did not want to be pitied. She hated pity, because it implied weakness on her part.
“Oh,” she said quickly, “they’ll come back from time to time.... I think that some day they may come back here to live.”
“Yes.... Pentlands will belong to them one day.”
And then for the first time she remembered that there was something which she had to tell him, something which had come to seem almost a confession. She must tell him now, especially since Jean would one day own all of Pentlands and all the fortune.
“There’s something I didn’t tell you before,” she began. “It’s something which I kept to myself because I wanted Sybil to have her happiness ... in spite of everything.”
He interrupted her, saying, “I know what it is.”