"It isn't that!"
He leaned forward, watching her, his expression singularly grave. "Would you mind telling me just what you do mean?"
Eva turned from the window and came toward him, and as the light fell on her face Astry was startled. He rose involuntarily from his seat and Eva stood still, her slender hands clutching at the back of a chair. She tried to speak twice before the words came.
"I can't bear it any longer, Johnstone; I'm going to tell the truth—the whole truth."
He did not speak; he was watching her strangely.
She shivered and then went on, not looking at him, her voice at first a mere whisper, growing a little firmer.
"Rachel married Belhaven—to save my good name."
He was still silent for a moment, regarding her.
"You mean that you—told me a falsehood that night?"
"About Rachel? Yes."