“Have you, Sorbert?”
“First of all, how have my visits struck you lately? What explanation have you found for them?”
“Oh, none. Why find an explanation? Why do you ask?”
“I thought I would explain.”
“Well?”
“My explanation to myself was that I did not want to leave you brusquely, and I thought a blurred interlude of this sort would do no harm to either of us. Our loves could die in each other’s arms.”
She stared with incredulous fixity at the floor, her spirit seeming to be arched like a swan and to be gazing down hypnotically.
“The real reason was simply that, being very fond of you, I could not make up my mind to give you up. I claim that my visits were not frivolous.”
“Well?”
“I would have married you, if you had considered that advisable.”