“You’d better have some tea.”
He raised his rather distracted face and saw that they were alone.
“Do you think I can drink tea after all you’ve told me? My God my game little kid ———”
To her astonishment his shoulders shook, and his head fell again into his hands. As she had never seen him anywhere near the border of tears her first impulse was to put her arms round him. But because she could not tell exactly what was in his mind she did not move.
“For heaven’s sake, dad, buck up. I’m all right. I’m not going to have my life spoiled, you know. It was so silly of you to say that. I didn’t mean to lose my temper so badly, but you know it does make me so mad to hear all that rot. And then it made me so mad to hear what you said to Dane, as if he were to blame.”
He looked up, and seeing her as he thought softened, he leaned towards her.
“Look here, old girl, there was only one reason why I came up here. I did not come to call Barrington names, but I got mad in spite of myself, he was so damned cool. But I came to beg you to stop this. And even after all you’ve said I still do. The other things are dead and buried. But you’ll never bury this.”
“And what if I don’t, and don’t want to?”
“Oh, Dick, old girl, please listen to me. Don’t get mad again.”
“All right, go on.”
“You’re infatuated now, Dick. And you can’t see the thing in any proportion ———”
“Suppose I married him,” she interrupted.
“Oh, that would be madness. It would never last. Nothing ever did with him as far as I can make out. His relations with women are just hopeless. He’d desert you,
