Dane sat where she had desired him, but leaning down towards her, listening and looking very gravely and intently. 'Yes,' he answered; 'and you studied it.'
'I tried.'The words came rather faintly. 'And that was there the tangle began.'
'What made the tangle?'
'Becausebecause the lesson and you were all wrapped up together. And I could never study it withoutstudying you. And soso it came,'she drew her breath a little, holding her fingers tight,'that before I could know much about thatI had to decide something elsedefinitelyfirst.'
Certainly some things are hard to tell!
'Well, you did decide something else definitely,' said Dane, with most delightful matter-of-fact gravity of manner, not seeming to recognize her difficulty at all.
'Then the tangle grew worse,' said Hazel. 'I used to think I was trying to be interested, or trying to understand, or trying to do, just to please you,or because you would like me better. And besides'
'Wellit would not have been very wicked if that had been partly true.'
'No,' said Hazel,'but then the work would not have been real; and I never could tell. And besides,' she went on again, 'you did not come, and I did not hear,and it did not suit me to be always thinking about youand I tried to put the whole thing out of my head.'
'Did I make a mistake then?' said Rollo. 'But I found I could not bear very well to meet you on the neutral ground of that year. I was waiting.'