He sat there for a time alone, sick at heart. He told himself he had bungled the whole thing. Why hadn't he told Amy all about Ruth, putting it in a way that would get her sympathies. Surely he could have done that had he told her the story as he knew it, made her feel what Ruth had suffered, how tormented and bewildered and desperate she had been. Now she had the town's side and naturally resented his championing of what was presented as so outrageous a thing. He went over the story as Edith would give it. That was enough to vindicate Amy.
He rose and followed her into the house. She was fingering some music on the piano. He saw how flushed her face was, how high she carried her head and how quick her breathing.
He went and put his arms around her. "Sweetheart," he said very simply and gently, "I love you. You know that, don't you?"
An instant she held back in conflict. Then she hid her face against him and sobbed. He held her close and murmured soothing little things.
She was saying something. "I was so happy," he made out the smothered words. "It was all so—beautiful."
"But you're happy now," he insisted. "It's beautiful now."
"I feel as if my marriage was being—spoiled," she choked.
He shook her, playfully, but his voice as he spoke was not playful. "Look here, Amy, don't say such a thing. Don't let such a thing get into your head for an instant! Our happiness isn't a thing to talk like that about."
"I feel as if—that woman—was standing between us!"
He raised her face and made her look into his own, at once stern and very tender. "Amy love, we've got to stop this right now. A long time ago—more than ten years ago—there was a girl here who had an awfully hard time. I was sorry for her. I'm sorry for her now. Life's hit her good and hard. We're among the fortunate people things go right for. We can be together—happy, having friends, everybody approving, everybody good to us. We're mighty lucky that it is that way. And isn't our own happiness going to make us a little sorry for people who are outside all this?" He kissed her. "Come now, sweetheart, you're not going to harden up like that. Why, that wouldn't be you at all!"