“No.”
“Why then?”
She raised herself suddenly, conquering herself, and looked at him fixedly:
“He is going away because he must, Jules. I cannot tell you why. But what he does is right. All that he does is right.”
The boy looked at her, motionless, with large wet eyes, full of astonishment:
“Is right?” he repeated.
“Yes. He is better than any one of us. If you go on loving him, Jules, it will bring you happiness, even if ... if you never see him again.”
“Do you think so?” he asked. “Does he bring happiness? Even in that case?...”
“Even in that case.”
She listened to her own words as she spoke: it was to her as if another were speaking, another who consoled not only Jules but herself as well and who would perhaps give her the strength to take leave of Taco in the manner which would be best, without despair.