riends."

She held out her hand, she couldn't think why, but as she did so
Gabrielle clasped it. "No ... don't go!" she pleaded.

"There's nothing more to be said." But Gabrielle still held her hand and
would not let it go.

"Only be merciful to me," she cried. "Let us think about it. There must
be some other way. Supposing ... supposing that we go back to Lapton
just in the ordinary way: supposing that I promise you faithfully that
nothing more shall happen. Listen, we never, never kissed before
to-night. I'll give you my word of honour that it shan't happen again
... if only you'll let him go back to us. Isn't that fair? Surely it's
fair...."

Mrs. Payne shook her head.

"You mean that you don't believe me ... you won't trust me?"

"I can't trust both of you. Do you think I don't know what love is?"

"But think ... think of all these months in which we've been so happy
together without a word of love! I love him ... you know I love him ...
I believe I love him more than you do. No, don't be angry with me for
saying that! Don't you think my love is strong enough to prevent me from
doing anything that could possibly harm him? Can't you believe that?"

"No ... it's too dangerous. You can answer for yourself, but you can't
answer for Arthur."

"Oh, if you loved him as you say you do ... as I believe you do ...
wouldn't you trust him? I'll talk to him. I can tell him anything.
I'll tell him exactly how things stand. I'll tell him what I've promised
you. Only don't take him away from me altogether. I couldn't bear it
... I couldn't." She turned back on herself. "Why won't you believe in
him?"

"You should know why that's impossible. Haven't I told you his history?
You've only known him for a year. I've had him for seventeen and loved
him all the time." She became almost passionate. "He's my son. And all
those years my love has been full of the awful bitterness of his trouble.
The tears! The disappointments! You know nothing of them. You can't
realize how I've struggled and schemed and had my hopes raised and dashed
to the ground ... time after time. To see the person that you love best
in the world, a part of your own body, living without a soul: a thief, a
liar--that's the plain truth--inhuman and cruel ... But you know as well
as I do what he was."

"I do know what he was."

"And now, thanks to your husband--God knows I'm grateful!--he's better.
He's what I knew he ought to h