"Yes, in a minute.... You'll dismiss me to-morrow, won't you? I'd better pack to-night. But I shall always go on loving you.... Oh, my goodness, what is my life to be without you?"
And suddenly he released her, dropped upon the seat, and buried his face in his hands.
She walked fast away—and then slowly returned. He was still sitting, with his head down, motionless.
"Mr. Marsden!... You have insulted me in the most outrageous manner—and the only possible excuse would be the absolute sincerity of the feelings that you have expressed so brutally. If I could for a moment believe—"
"Why can't you believe?"
"Because it is too absurd. I am no longer young—the mother of a girl old enough herself to marry."
"I don't want any pasty-faced girls. I want you."
He spoke without looking up at her, and his face remained hidden by his hands.
"If I sit down and talk to you quietly, will you promise that you won't begin again?"
"Yes."