“I didn’t know.... I thought so. But——”
“But what?”
“I didn’t—didn’t know—what you would think of it.... I was afraid it might—might make you—unhappy.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you care if Thessa loves somebody else?” she asked breathlessly.
“Did you think I did, Dulcie?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t.”
There was a strained silence; then the girl smiled at him in a confused manner, drew a swift, sudden breath, and, as he stepped forward to detain her, turned sharply away, pressing her forearm across her eyes.
“Dulcie! Did you understand me?” he said in a low, unsteady voice.