“I want you to know that I do not blame you in the least for anything you did. No action of yours can ever lessen my affection for you.”
“Oh, why did you come here? Why do you torture me by saying such things?”
She burst on a sudden into a flood of tears, and walked excitedly up and down the room.
“Oh, if you wanted me to be punished for the pain I’ve caused you, you can triumph now. Susie said she hoped I’d suffer all the agony that I’ve made you suffer. If she only knew!”
Margaret gave a hysterical laugh. She flung herself on her knees by Arthur’s side and seized his hands.
“Did you think I didn’t see? My heart bled when I looked at your poor wan face and your tortured eyes. Oh, you’ve changed. I could never have believed that a man could change so much in so few months, and it’s I who’ve caused it all. Oh, Arthur, Arthur, you must forgive me. And you must pity me.”
“But there’s nothing to forgive, darling,” he cried.
She looked at him steadily. Her eyes now were shining with a hard brightness.
“You say that, but you don’t really think it. And yet if you only knew, all that I have endured is on your account.”
She made a great effort to be calm.