. it _shall_
not.... Oh, my dear!... give me time, and I shall speak ... if I could
only say at once ... in one word ... could only understand ... that is
all ... to understand...." He relaxed his hold upon her; but she held
to him, or she might have fallen, so weak was she, and so unsteady was
the room and all in it to her sight. The image of him that she saw
seemed dim and in a cloud, as he pressed his hands upon his eyes and
stood for a moment speechless; then struggled again to find words
that for another moment would not come, caught in the gasping of his
breath. Then he got a longer breath, as for ease, and drawing her face
towards his own--and this time the touch of his hand was tender as
a child's--he kissed it repeatedly--kissed her eyes, her cheeks, her
lips. And in his kiss was security for her, safe again in the haven of
his love, come what might. She felt how it brought back to her the
breath she knew would fail her, unless her heart, that had beaten so
furiously a moment since, and then died away, should resume its life.
The room became steady, and she saw his face and its pallor plainly,
and knew that in a moment she should find her voice. But he spoke
first, again.

"That is what I want, dear love--to understand. Help me to
understand," he said. And then, as though feeling for the first time
how she was clinging to him for support, he passed his arm round her
gently, guiding her to sit down. But he himself remained standing by
her, as though physically unaffected by the storm of emotion, whatever
its cause, that had passed over him. Then Rosalind found her voice.

"Gerry darling--let us try and get quiet over it. After all, we are
both here." As she said this she was not very clear about her own
meaning, but the words satisfied her. "I see you have remembered more,
but I cannot tell how much. Now try and tell me--have you remembered
_all_?"

"I think so, darling." He was speaking more quietly now, as one docile
to her influence. His manner gave her strength to continue.

"Since you left Mr. Pilkington--your friend at the hotel--didn't you
say the name Pilkington?"

"No--there was no Pilkington! Oh yes, there was!--a friend of
Diedrich's...."

"Has it come back, I mean, since you left the house? Who is Diedrich?"

"Stop a bit, dearest love! I shall be able to tell it all directly."
She, too, was glad of a lull, and welcomed his sitting down beside
her on the bed-end, drawing her face to his, and