She was loth to let him
go. Seeing that her baby was sleeping peacefully, she said to
Windebank, when she joined him outside:
"I'll walk a little way with you."
"It's very good of you."
As they walked towards Victoria, neither of them seemed eager for
speech. They were both oppressed by the realisation of the
inevitable roads to which life's travellers are bound, despite the
personal predilections of the wayfarers.
"Little Mavis! little Mavis! what is going to happen?" he presently
asked.
"I'm going to be married and live happily ever after," she answered.
"I've had shocking luck. I mean with regard to you," he continued.
Mavis making no reply to this remark, he went on:
"But what I can't understand is, why you ran away that night when I
got you out of Mrs Hamilton's."
"I escaped in the fog."
"But why? Why? Little Mavis! little Mavis! these things are much too
sacred to play the fool with."
"I ran away out of consideration for you."
"Eh?"
"Why else should I? I didn't want you to burden your life with a
nobody like me."
"Are you serious?"
She laughed bitterly.
"Well, I'm hanged!" he cried.
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