"I found it on the gymnasium floor very early yesterday morning," she said.
The hard wariness melted into a slow despair.
"And why do you show it to me?" Innes said dully.
"Because I understand that there is only one pair of those old-fashioned pumps in College."
There was silence. Lucy laid the little object down on the table and waited.
"Am I wrong?" she asked at last.
"No."
There was another silence.
"You don't understand, Miss Pym," she said in a burst, "it wasn't meant to be — . I know you'll think I'm just trying to white-wash it, but it was never meant to be-to be the way it turned out. It was because I was so sick about missing Arlinghurst-I practically lost my reason over that for a time-I behaved like an idiot. It got so that I couldn't think of anything in the world but Arlinghurst. And this was just to be a way of-of letting me have a second chance at it. It was never meant to be more than that. You must believe that. You must —»
"But of course I believe it. If I didn't I don't suppose I should be sharing the knowledge of this with you." She indicated the rosette.