is throat and wished that she would take
her hands down and then finally plunged:

"Rachel--I don't know--I can't--hang it all, what _can_ I say? I've been
a beastly cad and I'd cut my right hand off to have prevented it
happening----"

She took her hand down and turned towards him--

"Let's cut all the recrimination part, Roddy," she said. "It was very
unfortunate--that was all. It was rather beastly of you, and as for
Nita----"

Here he broke in--"No, I say, you mustn't say anythin' about her. She
wasn't a little bit to blame--It just----"

"Well, we'll leave Nita. She isn't of any importance, anyway. The point
is that things have been wrong for months between us, and as we haven't
been married very long that's a pity. This has just brought things to a
head, that's all----"

"No," said Roddy firmly. "No, Rachel, that ain't fair to Nita. I know it
isn't nice, but I must put that out fair and square--fair and square to
Nita.

"We'd had a jolly old drive to Hawes--rippin' day, cold as anythin',
with the horse just spankin' along, and then the Rockingtons were jolly
and the lunch was jolly and back we came. We looked about the house for
you and heard you were still out walkin', so we just strolled about the
garden a bit and then--Well, anyway, Nita simply had nothin' to do with
it. It was so rippin' and jolly after the drive and all, that I just
kissed her. All in a second I just felt I had to ... beastly weak of
me," he finally added in a contemplative tone.

"Well, that disposes of Nita," said Rachel. "Don't let's mention her
again. Meanwhile what sort of life am I going to have if 'things' are
going to sweep over you like this continually? Besides, it's rather
early days, isn't it? We haven't been married half a year yet."

"No," said Roddy slowly, "no, we haven't and it's simply beastly. I'm a
perfect swine. When I married you the one thing I meant to do was to be
just as kind to you as I jolly well could be, and give you a perfectly
rippin' time, and here I am hurtin' you like anything----"

She moved impatiently. "Never mind that, Roddy. You _have_ been very
kind and I'm sure you'd have given anything for me not to have come into
the garden just when I did, so as to have avoided hurting me. But what I
do know is that you're not straight with me. You know I told you before
we were married that the one thing that mattered was Truth--truth to
oneself and truth to everyone else--Well, we haven't been straigh