anything about
things. She'd come in this room a lot. Sit in here by herself. One of
the last days mother was around she called me in here and she had that
dress you wore to Edith Lawrence's wedding spread out on the bed and
was--oh, just kind of fussing with it. And the reason she called me in
was that she wanted to know if I remembered how pretty you looked in it
that night."

But Ruth had thrown out a hand for him to stop, had covered her face as
if shutting something out. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ruth!" murmured Ted. "I'm a
fool!" he cried angrily. But after a minute he added haltingly, "And
yet--you did want to know, and--maybe it's fairer to mother, Ruth.
Maybe--" but he could not go on and went over and stood by the window,
not wanting to leave her like that, not knowing what to do.

"Well, one thing I want you to know, Ruth," he said, as he did finally
turn to the door. "I've been talking along about how hard it was for the
rest of us, but don't for a minute think I don't see how terrible it was
for _you_. I get that, all right."

She looked up at him, wanting to speak, but dumb; dumb in this new
realization of how terrible it had been for them all.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

An hour later she had to get away from that room. She did not know where
she was going, but she had to have some escape. Just the physical act of
getting away was something.

Ted and Harriett were talking in the lower hall. They looked in inquiry
at the hat she held and her face made Ted lay a hand on her arm. She
told them she had to have exercise--air--and was going out for a little
walk. She thought Harriett looked aghast--doubtless preferring Ruth be
seen as little as possible. But she could not help that; she had to get
away--away from that room, that house, away from those old things now
newly charged. Something left with them shut down around her as a fog in
which she could not breathe. Ted asked if he should go with her, but she
shook her head and started for the side door, fearing he might insist.
He called after her that Harriett was going to have Cyrus stay at her
house, that she could make room for him. He said it with a relief which
told how he had really hated having his brother go to the hotel. As she
turned with something about that being better, she noticed how worn and
worried Harriett looked, and then hurried on, wanting to get away, to
escape for a little while from that crushing realization of how hard she
made things fo