He looked surprised. "Why not? You don't want to walk all that way."
"I'd rather go on a bus if you don't mind."
She felt that she must cling to her old life with might and main for this last evening. After to-morrow—well, she could not help what happened after to-morrow.
The Beggar Man's face softened. She looked so young and appealing, and perhaps he understood better than she imagined what she was feeling.
"Very well," he said gently. "I'll say good-night, then. Half-past eight at the end of your road, and ... thank you!"
Faith looked up quickly.
"Oh, it's for me to say thank you," she said. "You've been so good to me. Nobody could have been so kind."
The Beggar Man flushed.
"I hope you'll always be able to say that," he said awkwardly as he raised his hat and turned away.
Faith went home on top of an omnibus. For the first time that evening she felt that she could breathe freely. The sense of unreality was leaving her, and she began to see things more in their true perspective.