“O, you are going off on business?”
“No: I don’t expect to return.”
“Why—is—it—is it not a sudden conclusion?”
“It is,” said Xerxes. “I reached it on leaving you yesterday evening. I learned something that at once decided me.”
“It seems that it was something disagreeable, judging by your looks?”
“Yes, the most disagreeable news I ever heard in my life,” exclaimed Xerxes. “I cannot remain here any longer. I wish I had known it sooner. I should have controlled my foolish heart, and saved myself a world of sorrow.”
“I don’t understand you,” said Clara.
“I know you don’t, but to be plain, you are the cause of my trouble.”
“I? How can I be?”