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to greet me. "You've come home," she said. "As I wrote to you." She stood very still, a dusky figure against the bright window. "Where have you been?" she asked. "East Coast," I said easily. She paused for a moment. "I KNOW," she said. I stared at her. It was the most amazing moment in any life.... "By Jove!" I said at last, "I believe you do!" "And then you come home to me!" I walked to the hearthrug and stood quite still there regarding this new situation. "I didn't dream," she began. "How could you do such a thing?" It seemed a long interval before either of us spoke another word. "Who knows about it?" I asked at last. "Smithie's brother. They were at Cromer." "Confound Cromer! Yes!" "How could you bring yourself" I felt a spasm of petulant annoyance at this unexpected catastrophe. "I should like to wring Smithie's brother's neck," I said.... Marion spoke in dry, broken fragments of sentences. "You... I'd always thought that anyhow you couldn't deceive me... I suppose all men are horrid--about this." "It doesn't strike me as horrid. It seems to me the most necessary consequence--and natural thing in the world." I became aware of some one moving about in the passage, and went and shut the door of the room, then I walked back to the hearthrug and turned. "It's rough on you," I said. "But I didn't mean you to know. You've never cared for me. I've had the devil of a time. Why should you mind?" She sat down in a draped armchair. "I HAVE cared for you," she said. I shrugged my shoulders. "I suppose," she said, "SHE cares for you?" I had no answer. "Where is she now?" "Oh! does it matter to you?... Look here, Marion! This--this I didn't anticipate. I didn't mean this thing to smash down on you like this. But, you know, something had to happen. I'm sorry--sorry to the bottom of my heart that things have come to this between us. But indeed, I'm taken by surprise. I don't know where I am--I don't know how we got here. Things took me by surprise. I found myself alone with her one day. I kissed her. I went on. It seemed stupid to go back. And besides--why should I have gone back? Why should I? From first to last, I've hardly thought of it as touching you.... Damn!" She scrutinised my face, and pulled at the ball-fringe of the little table beside her. "To think of it," she said. "I don't believe I can ever touch you again." We kept a long silence. I was on
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