'
'Oh, wasn't it cruel that she should take such revenge upon me!' Her
voice rose in unrestrained emotion. 'Just because she envied me that
poor bit of advantage over her! How could I be expected to refuse
the chance that was offered? It would have been no use; she couldn't
have kept the part. And I was so near success. I had never had a
chance of showing what I could do. It wasn't much of a part, really,
but it was the lead, at all events, and it would have made people
pay attention to me. You don't know how strongly I was always drawn
to the stage; there I found the work for which I was meant. And I
strove so hard to make my way. I had no friends, no money. I earned
only just enough to supply my needs. I know what people think about
actresses. Mr. Kirkwood, do you imagine I have been living at my
ease, congratulating myself that I had escaped from all hardships?'
He could not raise his eyes. As she still awaited his answer, he
said in rather a hard voice:
'As I have told you, I read all the details that were published.
'Then you know that I was working hard and honestly--working far,
far harder than when I lived in Clerkenwell Close.
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