“I had rather be near you—for a while,” she said timidly.
“Certainly. But, Miss Norne, our living here together, in my apartment—or living together anywhere else—is never going to be understood by other people. You know that, don’t you?”
After a silence, still looking at him out of clear unembarrassed eyes:
“I know.... But ... I don’t want to die.”
“I told you,” he said sharply, “they’ll have to kill me first. So that’s all right. But how about what I am doing to your reputation?”
“I understand.”
“I suppose you do. You’re very young. Once out of this blooming mess, you will have all your life before you. But if I kill your reputation for you while saving your body from death, you’ll find no happiness in living. Do you realise that?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then? Have you any solution for this problem that confronts you?”
“No.”