“I?” She laughed gently. “On the contrary it was I who tried to lead you away from your work, to make you practical. Don’t you remember the Graham offer?”
“Yes,” hurriedly. “I’ve thought of it a thousand times. It was the big mistake of my life when I refused his proposal. If I’d accepted then—”
“You’d not have been a successful writer whose work goes on sale to-day in every city in the United States.”
“Perhaps. But I would have had you. What do I care for success in comparison to you!”
Listening, just for an instant the girl’s nostrils tightened; again she laughed.
“We seem to be travelling in a circle,” she bantered, “and keep returning to the starting-point. It’s discouraging.”
“It’s written,” said Armstrong, simply. “We can’t avoid it. With me you’re the starting-point as you’re the end, always. Didn’t you recognize yourself so in the last novel?” 317
The girl settled back in her seat wearily.
“You told me, I recall,” she said.
“And in the one before?”