"Have you noticed," he at last asked, without turning, "that I haven't for some time mentioned your former distaste for the Captain's society?"
Muriel was silent.
"It seemed strange to me at the very beginning," Jim went on; "but I tried hard to misinterpret it. I tried to shut my eyes to it. Then, that night at L'Abbaye, I saw how you felt at the sight of him with the Spanish dancer——"
Muriel had an instant of weakness. During that instant, the low flames of the lamp, the empty sconces, the whole white-panelled room revolved, with an upward motion, slowly around her.
"You saw that!"
"I saw that something inside the restaurant had upset you, and, naturally, as you started down the stairs, I turned about to observe what it was."
The wife fought for her self-control and won it.
"Deceit! Deceit even then!"
"Since you didn't seem to want the matter mentioned, I, of course, did not mention it; but I understood why you wanted to leave Paris—and I understood later why you wanted to go back."
He paused. She scorned to give him a reply.