And Helen turned very red and looked away. “Yes, I heard it all,” she said; and then there was a long silence.
It was broken by the man, who began in a low voice: “I scarcely know how, Miss Davis, I can apologize to you—”
And then he stopped short, for the girl had turned her glance upon him, wonderingly. “Apologize?” she said; she had never once thought of that view of it, and the word took her by surprise.
“Yes,” said Mr. Howard; “I said so many hard and cruel things that I cannot bear to think of them.”
Helen still kept her eyes fixed upon him, as she said, “Did you say anything that was not true, Mr. Howard?”
The man hesitated a moment, and then he answered: “I said many things that I had no right to say to you.”
“That is not it,” said Helen simply. “Did you say anything that was not true?”
Again Mr. Howard paused. “I am quite sure that I did,” he said at last. “Most of what I said I feel to have been untrue since I have seen how it affected you.”
“Because it made me so ashamed?” said Helen. And then some of the thoughts that possessed her forced their way out, and she hurried on impetuously: “That was the first thing I wanted to tell you. It is really true that you were wrong, for I am not hard-hearted at all. It was something that my—that people were making me do, and all the time I was wretched. It was dreadful, I know, but I was tempted, because I do love beautiful things. And it was all so sudden, and I could not realize it, and I had nobody to advise me, for none of the people I meet would think it was wrong. You must talk to me and help me, because I've got to be very strong; my aunt will be angry, and when I get back perhaps Mr. Harrison will be there, and I shall have to tell him.”
Then the girl stopped, out of breath and trembling with excitement; Mr. Howard turned abruptly and fixed his dark eyes upon her.