He could not say it—instead he pulled her towards him by the hand he held.
"Jo—I must."
"Arthur—no!"
But it was too late—he had kissed her.
"That's the first time you done it," she said reproachfully.
"Because it's the last. You aren't angry, are you?"
"I?—no. But, Arthur, you mustn't forget you're married to Ellen."
"Am I like to forget it?—And seeing all the dunnamany kisses she's given to another man, reckon she won't grudge me this one poor kiss I've given the woman I've loved without clasp or kiss for fifteen years."
For the first time she heard in his voice both bitterness and passion, and at that moment the man himself seemed curiously to come alive and to compel.... But Joanna was not going to dally with temptation in the unaccustomed shape of Arthur Alce. She pushed open the door.
"Have they brought round Ranger?—Hi! Peter Crouch!—Yes, there he is. You'll have a good ride home, Arthur."