“The moment had rushed at her unawares; she looked at me with frightened eyes; her determination, put to the test, hesitated.
“I went over to her and stood before her.
“‘What is it, Ruth?’ I said again. ‘You haven’t brought me down here for nothing. Hadn’t you better tell me before your husband comes in?’
“‘He won’t come in,’ she said, hanging her head so that I could only see the wealth of her hair and her little figure in the big blue apron.
“‘How do you know?’ I asked.
“‘He isn’t here.’
“‘Where is he, then?’
“She raised her head and looked me full in the face, no longer frightened, but steady, resolute.
“‘He has left me,’ she said.
“‘Left you? What do you mean? For good?’