Heath looked at her with his bright almost too searching and observant eyes.
"I wonder," he said almost reluctantly, "whether—may I talk about myself to-day?" he interrupted himself.
"Do, if you like to."
"I think I should."
"Do, then."
"I wonder whether a man is a coward to raise up barriers between himself and life, whether it is a mistake to have a retreat, as you rightly call this room, this house, and to spend the greater part of one's time alone in it? But"—he moved restlessly—"the real question is whether one ought to let oneself be guided by a powerful instinct."
"I expect one ought to."
"Do you? Oh, you're not eating anything!"
"I will help myself."
"Mrs. Shiffney wouldn't agree with you."