“And now, if you will be so good as to tell me what you came for,” he began, “and how you discovered my whereabouts. Did the chauffeur——?”
“Oh, no. He didn’t say a word. I took down the number of the car, and then, it was fairly easy for your mother to discover the rest.”
“And so she sent you after me?”
She shook her head, miserably.
“Oh, no. She really didn’t want me to come. But I had to. I felt I must talk to you once more. But please don’t think I have come for myself, I haven’t. I don’t want you to come back to me if—if you don’t wish to. I know you have never loved me.” She paused, then continued, “It is only for your mother’s sake that I am here. She is entirely broken up since your letter. Please, please.” She got up and coming close to him, clasped his arm. “Please return to her! If you don’t, I’m sure something dreadful will happen. I never saw her so upset in my life. She is really ill, Alexis.” He withdrew his arm, but not ungently. The girl’s unselfishness had touched him in spite of himself.
“I simply cannot return, Claire. My mother has dominated me too long, and my soul aches for freedom. After this I must be my own master. It’s not as if she really cared for me personally. All I meant to her was my career and what it brought in!” he ended bitterly. “Tell her that is finished forever, and she will be quite satisfied to do without me. For of what use is a dry cow?”
He laughed sardonically.
Tears streaming down her face, Claire answered brokenly.
“It breaks my heart to hear you speak so about your music, you who lived for nothing else. Oh, my poor Alexis, what madness has come over you?”
He looked before him with bewildered eyes.