He took one step toward her, and his voice fell so low that she could just hear him:
"She has lost her mind, and the case is hopeless. Those to whom the laws of the land have given care of her turned on her, threatened her with disgrace. And when one friend of hers halted this miserable conspiracy, her malady came swiftly upon her, and suddenly she found herself helpless, penniless, abandoned, her mind already clouded, and clouding faster! . . . Eileen, was there then the shadow of a doubt as to the responsibility? Because a man's son was named in the parable, does the lesson end there—and are there no others as prodigal—no other bonds that hold as inexorably as the bond of love?
"Men—a lawyer or two—a referee—decided to remove a burden; but a higher court has replaced it."
He came and stood directly before her:
"I dare not utter one word of love to you; I dare not touch you. What chance is there for such a man as I?"
"No chance—for us," she whispered. "Go!"
For a second he stood motionless, then, swaying slightly, turned on his heel.
And long after he had left the house she still stood there, eyes closed, colourless lips set, her slender body quivering, racked with the first fierce grief of a woman's love for a man.