'And you came out….' I helped her gently, 'as Jane did, and found him….'
She burst out crying afresh. I almost wished I had not suggested this outlet for her horror and grief.
'Don't, mother,' she sobbed. 'I can't talk about it—I can't.'
'My pet, of course you can't, and you shan't. It was thoughtless of me to think that speech would be a relief. Lie down on your bed, dear, and have a good rest, and you will feel better presently.'
But she opposed that too.
'I can't stay here. I want to go home at once. At once, mother.'
'My dearest child, you must wait for me. I can't let you go alone in this state, and I can't, of course, go myself until Jane is ready to come with me.'
'I'm going,' she repeated. 'I can go alone. I'm going now, at once.'
And she began feverishly cramming her things into her suit-case.
I was anxious about her, but I did not like to thwart her in her present mood. Then I heard Frank's voice in the drawing-room, and I thought I would get him to accompany her, at least to the station. Frank and Clare have always been fond of one another, and she has a special reliance on clergymen.