till burning within him which drove him to find out what she
had felt--how his kiss had left her--whether he had been able to reach
anything in her.

"You didn't seem to be bothering much about me when you went through
into the promenade," she said at last.

He was answered in part; the next moment she felt his arm through hers,
just as she had been dreaming on the road, only the reality had a
compelling magnetism which was beyond any dreams. "Let us go a little
way along the cliff," he said. "I want to speak to you. I want to
explain." He spoke excitedly, with a sort of jaded eagerness in his
tone; and though she knew her own unwisdom, she went with him.

The turning towards the cliff was just beyond the Cottage, on the
opposite side of the road, and consisted of a gravel path that opened
out into a small space on the cliff top. It was a lonely spot, out of
the way of strolling visitors at that time of night: the bench in the
middle of the gravelled space lay empty in the luminous sea-twilight
with a great arch of sky overhead and the waves below catching a gleam
from moon and stars on every ripple. Though Thorhaven might not be
beautiful on a Gala evening, with futile little lamps and starved
visitors blown about by the wind, it had, on such nights as these, an
exquisite, cool beauty which appealed to the spirit as well as the
senses.

As they sat down, Caroline could feel his fingers trembling on her arm;
suddenly his kiss struck hard on her lips and her head fell back so
that he could see the dark rims of her eyelashes. "Ah! You're in it
too--you're in it too," he murmured triumphantly--caring for nothing
but that triumphant knowledge.

She knew what he meant--they were both in it. Their oneness enveloped
her in a cloud of rapture. Then she jerked herself out of his embrace.
"No. No. I can't have you kissing me. It isn't fair to take your fun
out of me when you're going to be married directly. I don't know how
you can want to do it."

He jumped up without speaking and walked towards the cliff edge. "Good
God!" he burst out. "You don't imagine I _want_ to be in love with
you! I'm in hell--hell! Whatever I do, I see your face. It's beyond
all reason----" He stopped short, amazed and enraged by this strange,
biting curiosity which made him mad about a girl who was nothing--who
was not even really pretty. What could influence men in this
way--driving them to insane acts for the sake of some o