"Jinny," she said, "have you any idea how it happened?"
Jane made a sound of negation that was almost inaudible, and wholly inarticulate.
Nina pondered. "I believe," she said presently, "you do know." She paused on that a moment. "It needn't have happened," she said. "It wouldn't if you'd shown him that you cared."
Jane looked at her then. "I did show him," she said. "That's how it happened."
"It couldn't. Not that way."
"It did. I waked him up. I made him restless, I made him want things. But there was nothing—nothing——"
"You forget. I've seen him with you. What's more, I've seen him without you."
"Ah, but it wasn't that. Not for a moment. It could never have been that."
"You could have made it that. You could have made it anything you liked. Jinny! If I'd been as sure of him as you were, I'd never have let him go. I'd have held on——"
Her hands' tense clutch on the arm of her chair showed how she would have held on.