Still she did not speak.
"Because you have discussed her. I had your letter. You said you'd heard from her. That was since you last saw her. What happened in between?"
She found her voice. "Nothing that I know, except that it seems to have been definitely off."
"By that do you mean that she returned Monty's ring?"
"She didn't say what she did with the ring."
"Well, she neither returned it nor kept it. I have it. I don't want it. Will you take it?"
I fetched it from my pocket and held it out to her.
Her hand found my sleeve, almost as if that brilliance underfoot unsteadied her head. Her eyes had closed and there was a little hard crumple between her brows. I put my other hand on her shoulder.
"Let's get up the beach—this is too dazzling—it's making you dizzy," I said.