"Oh, I don't mind. I thought you might be sorry for yourself."
"Myself?"
"And your neighbour's wife," she added.
"Well, what about myself and my neighbour's wife?"
"I'm not familiar with such matters." Her face did not change, but the burning anger suddenly welled up in her again. "I don't know anything about such affairs, but if you think I ought to I might try to learn." She laughed and leaned back into the depths of her chair. "You and I are such intimate friends it's a shame I shouldn't understand and sympathise with what most interests you."
He remained silent, gazing down at his shadow on the grass, hands clasped loosely between his knees. She strove to study him calmly; her mind was chaos; only the desire to hurt him persisted, rendered sterile by the confused tumult of her thoughts.
Presently, looking up:
"Do you doubt that things are not right between—my neighbour's wife—and me?" he inquired.
"The matter doesn't interest me."
"Doesn't it?"