That night, she sat alone in the library, sheltered by the darkness. Margaret was reading in her own room, and Lynn was out. More clearly than ever, Iris saw that she must go away. She had no definite plan, but Herr Kaufmann’s suggestion seemed a good one.
When Lynn came in, he lit the candles in the parlour. Iris hoped he would go upstairs without coming into the library, but he did not. She shrank back into her chair, trusting that he would not see her, but with unerring instinct he went straight to her.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, “are you here?”
“I’m here,” said Iris, frostily, “but that isn’t my name.”
The timid little voice thrilled him with a great tenderness, and he quickly possessed himself of her hand. “Iris, darling,” he went on, “why do you avoid me? I have been miserable ever since I told you I wrote the letters.”
“It was wrong to write them,” she said.
“Why, dear?”
“Because.”
“Didn’t you like them?”
“No.”