"My heart bleeds for you." There was a pause. Her eyes were full of pain. But presently she broke the silence, as if discovering some crumb of comfort. "This time at least you will not be going to privation."
"In my heart of hearts privation is preferable."
"Ah, no. Remember it is the call of duty. It is the sacrifice we must make for Alice's sake. She is a good woman. Her life must not be broken."
"I promise I shall try to make her happy—whatever the cost. But think how happy we should have been together, you and I, darling."
"We should have been happy together," she said in a low voice. "It would have been a perfect union. But I say again that life is a compromise. Our demands are great; we have to accept the little that is granted."
"Yet the door still stands open," he mused. "We may yet take our fate into our own hands."
"The door stands open, but we turn our backs upon it."
"We are too strong," he groaned. "I am tempted to pray for weakness."
She drew herself up, her face alight with a noble radiance. "Let us both be proud of our strength. We have set right above everything."
"But suppose we are mistaken—" he urged tensely.