"They would not be wide-minded enough to understand."
"They're not wide-minded, I know that, and of course they may feel I've been here under false pretences."
"They certainly would. Wouldn't it be better to do as I advise—to leave Riff? You must lose them either way, Annette. Then why not lose them by going away, instead of telling them first and then having to go away?—for, of course, you could not remain. It would give less pain all round."
Annette locked her hands together.
"I would rather they knew the truth about me."
"The truth!" said Mrs. Stoddart, who, like most shrewd women, did not relish opposition. "The truth! And who will get at the truth if you tell that story of your act of supreme folly? Who will believe that you were not Dick Le Geyt's mistress? The truth! Do you think it is the truth about you that I have taken such trouble to conceal?"
"Yes, partly," said Annette. "And I have often wondered lately if it had not been a mistake."
"Why particularly lately?"
"Because of Roger Manvers."
"The young man at the bridge? I wondered whether he was in love with you when we were talking to him. But I did not think it mattered if he was."