“Oh, Jack!” Helen withdrew her hands and pressed them against her tired temples. “Don’t you see that this is simply repeating the mistake which has caused all our trouble? Now, at this moment, we are to each other just what we were when we became engaged, forgetful of all that has occurred since. Why not recognize things as they really are, and spare ourselves the added sorrow which must surely come?”
“Can you not forgive what has happened since?”
“I have forgiven all that there is to forgive; but I can’t forget the knowledge that has come to me.”
“What knowledge is there which refuses to be forgotten?”
“A knowledge of your real self, Jack—and that self has never belonged to me. It is as distinct and separate as if it were that of another man. It has been developed apart from me; it is of such a nature that I cannot become a part of it.”
“You are so great a part of it already, dear, that you could not sever yourself from it.”
“No, Jack. It is your loyalty, your sense of duty, that is speaking now. Or perhaps you are far enough away from what has happened not to see it as clearly as I do. You have become a part of another life, and your future belongs to that life and to the woman who has also become a part of it.”
“You can’t mean this, Helen. Think what you are saying!”
“I do mean it, just as I meant it when I said so before, when you failed to comprehend. It is Inez who must be your companion in this new life.”
Armstrong did not remonstrate, as he had done before. It was impossible to misunderstand the conviction in Helen’s voice. He could no longer attribute it to jealousy or to caprice; he could no longer fail to understand the meaning of her words.