He hesitated.
“That’ll do,” he said after a moment.
She left him, and returned almost immediately with her check-book. There was a desk in the corner, and she went to it and sat down, looking hastily over her accounts. Her heart sank, for she had a sudden swift intuition that the man in the next room wanted it. Was it blackmail? She dared not ask, but she looked up.
“I can spare you six hundred.”
Faunce did not reply and she turned in her chair, looking back at him over her shoulder. He was standing erect beside the table, his arms folded on his breast and his head bent. She could not make out the expression of his face, and she thought that he had not heard her.
She repeated her statement. He roused himself and raised his head.
“Never mind about it now,” he said. “I’ve thought better of it. I’ve decided I can do without it.”
She turned completely around, facing him.
“Of course I should be glad to help you, Arthur.”
He thanked her, turning toward her with a look that suddenly softened her mood, for his smile was tender and sad.