He began to speak rather fast:
“After all, what’s it matter? This is only the beginning. We’ll count today as any other day—a working day. I’m no more to you—or you to me—beyond the sharing of a single name and a single roof. We won’t spoil our future by any foretaste of its good. Do you agree?”
“I agree.”
“Then shake hands, partner.”
“God bless you and let you win,” said Eve, as she laid her hand on his.
By the doors of the British Museum they nodded a temporary farewell. He entered and made his way to the reading-room, and she walked home alone.
III
The moonlight streamed through the slanting window, pitching a dim ray upon Wynne as he lay asleep.
It was dark in the lonely corner, on the far side of the room, where, very faintly, the outline of a slim white figure could be seen—a figure hugging her knees and resting her chin upon them. Very quiet it was—just the rise and fall of a man’s breathing and the muted, humming noises of the night.
The clocks of the City coughed and jarred the hour of three.