“Delia,” he smiled. “Delia.”
She stepped back.
“What is it you want with me?” she said.
He moved from his place. “Do you care for me?” he asked. “Could you ever care for me?”
She fell back before him. “Oh, why do you ask?” she cried.
His eyes rested on her with a curious expression as of yearning.
“Because I care for you,” he answered. “Don’t you understand, Delia?”
The first notes of the anthem were sounding through the silence as she answered faintly:
“It cannot be you mean this....”
She sat down heavily and clasped her trembling hands very tightly.