Before his eyes shimmered pale-red the bygone passions that were strange to him; they loomed up before him; and yet he saw the room, wintry-cold and silently abandoned by the old man, with not a sound in it save the flaring gas.
"Yes," said Aunt Adèle, "perhaps it's better that no one should know ... except ourselves.... Oh, Steyn, it has relieved me ... that you should know, that you should know!... Oh, how dreadful life is, for such things to happen!"
She wrung her hands, shook her head from side to side.
"Come," said Steyn; and his great frame shuddered. "Come, let's go...."
Aunt Adèle, trembling, turned out the gas.
They went downstairs.
The dark room remained wintry and silently abandoned.
The letter lay in the basket, torn up very small....