It must be so."

"Oh, Suzanne!"

"Let's just think," she pleaded, "it is so beautiful."

They came to a station near Daleview, and walked over. On the way he
slipped his arm about her waist, but, oh, so lightly.

"Suzanne," he asked, with a terrible yearning ache in his heart, "do you
blame me? Can you?"

"Don't ask me," she pleaded, "not now. No, no."

He tried to press her a little more closely.

"Not now. I don't blame you."

He stopped as they neared the lawn and entered the house with a jesting
air. Explanations about mixing in the crowd and getting lost were easy.
Mrs. Dale smiled good naturedly. Suzanne went to her room.

CHAPTER VIII

Having involved himself thus far, seized upon and made his own this
perfect flower of life, Eugene had but one thought, and that was to
retain it. Now, of a sudden, had fallen from him all the weariness of
years. To be in love again. To be involved in such a love, so wonderful,
so perfect, so exquisite, it did not seem that life could really be so
gracious as to have yielded him so much. What did it all mean, his
upward rise during all these years? There had been seemingly but one
triumph after another since the bitter days in Riverwood and after. The
_World_, Summerfield's, The Kalvin Company, The United Magazine
Corporation, Winfield, his beautiful apartment on the drive. Surely the
gods were good. What did they mean? To give him fame, fortune and
Suzanne into the bargain? Could such a thing really be? How could it be
worked out? Would fate conspire and assist him so that he could be free
of Angela--or----

The thought of Angela to him in these days was a great pain. At bottom
Eugene really did not dislike her, he never had. Years of living with
her had produced an understanding and a relationship as strong and as
keen as it might well be in some respects. Angela had always fancied
since the Riverwood days that she really did not love Eugene truly any
more--could not, that he was too self-centered and selfish; but this on
her part was more of an illusion than a reality. She did care for him in
an unselfish way from one point of view, in that she would sacrifice
everything to his interests. From another point of view it was wholly
selfish, for she wanted him to sacrifice everything for her in return.
This he was not willing to do and had never been. He considered that his
life was a larger thing than could be encompassed by any single
matrimonial relationship