“Oh Anne, it is all over. This is the end.”
With a smothered sob, he dropped his head back upon her knees.
“What do you mean?” Her voice was shocked. A premonitory thrill sent a shiver over her body.
“I have taken Claire back again,” he gasped.
She uttered a cry and recoiled instinctively.
“I understand and—and I suppose I am glad,” she faltered, with quick pride. She tried to remove his hold but his arms tightened about her convulsively.
“Oh no, you don’t understand at all. I don’t love her. It isn’t that. It’s——” his eyes widened with horror, “Claire is going to have a child,” he finished brokenly.
“Ah!” Anne’s face became suddenly ashen. “I suppose I should have foreseen this,” she murmured, pushing him away from her almost roughly. “Oh, poor Claire, how she must have suffered! How can I ever forgive myself?” She wrung her hands in an unfamiliar gesture.
He stumbled to his feet and stood over her. “I didn’t know it, Anne. I never dreamed of such a thing.”
“No, I suppose not, but that doesn’t make it any easier for Claire, does it?” Her voice was dry and expressionless. “When—when is it to be?”