She looked at a sofa, but he failed to perceive her glance.
“To-morrow,” he told her, “I begin the day by writing to Mr. Trenchard and your husband.”
“For God’s sake don’t call him that any more. You’ll be telling me I’m Mrs. Dingle in a minute.”
“As a matter of fact you are, Medora. We mustn’t dream beautiful dreams yet. We’ve got to face reality till we alter reality.”
“My life’s not been reality so far—only a nightmare.”
“Reality is nothing more than a question of time now. In fact you may say it’s begun, Medora.”
“Yes, indeed, Jordan dear. You can’t guess what heaven it is to me to know I’m in your strong hands. I’ve come to rest after being tossed by cruel storms—to rest in your arms.”
“I hope I’ll prove all you think me. I want to have the future clear and the past off our minds; and then we’ll just enjoy ourselves and have a bit of good fun.”
She wondered what his idea of good fun would be. But she was not yet feeling much like fun. While the evening wore on and the fire went out and Kellock’s level voice proceeded to indicate the future as he hoped and desired it to be, she began to feel cold and depressed.
“I shall inform Mr. Trenchard that I will return, or leave as he prefers. It really doesn’t matter to me; because, thank God, my ability makes me independent. Of course if you don’t want to go back, I shouldn’t think of doing so; but you do want to.”
“That will mean that your—that Mr. Dingle leaves.”
“So he should; but he’s just the man not to see it.”
“Obviously he must leave, or I must. I bear him a very bitter grudge for his cruelty to you, and I’m not going to pretend that I care about his future.”
“Far from it. Wrong done to you was wrong done to me. At least that is what it amounts to now. My feeling to Dingle will be the feeling of the strong to the weak, Medora. He must go if you wish to stop. Of course I’ve got very different ideas from him.”
“For instance, I wouldn’t let my wife work as he let you work.”
She yawned presently and he exclaimed that he must not keep her up any longer.
“You put everything out of your mind and go to bed,” he advised. “Would you like a cup of tea or anything before you go?”
But he explained that he never took anything after his supper, and that the lighter his last meal, the better he slept.