in town. I shall
bring some wonderful doctors here, and they will make you quite strong
again."

Her large eyes were lifted almost piteously to his.

"But how can I leave here?" she asked plaintively. "Every week,
sometimes oftener, he calls to me. If I went away, his spirit would
break loose and follow me. I must be here to wave my hand; then he goes
away."

Dominey was conscious once more of that strange and most unexpected fit
of emotion. He was unrecognisable even to himself. Never before in his
life had his heart beaten as it was beating now. His eyes, too, were
hot. He had travelled around the word in search of new things, only
to find them in this strange, faded chamber, side by side with this
suffering woman. Nevertheless, he said quietly:

"We must send you some place where the people are kinder and where life
is pleasanter. Perhaps you love music and to see beautiful pictures. I
think that we must try and keep you from thinking."

She sighed in a perplexed fashion.

"I wish that I could get it out of my blood that I want to kill you.
Then you could take me right away. Other married people have lived
together and hated each other. Why shouldn't we? We may forget even to
hate."

Dominey staggered to his feet, walked to a window, threw it open and
leaned out for a moment. Then he closed it and came back. This new
element in the situation had been a shock to him. All the time she was
watching him composedly.

"Well?" she asked, with a strange little smile. "What do you say? Would
you like to hold as a wife's the hand which frightened you so last
night?"

She held it out to him, soft and warm. Her fingers even returned the
pressure of his. She looked at him pleasantly, and once more he felt
like a man who has wandered into a strange country and has lost his
bearings.

"I want you so much to be happy," he said hoarsely, "but you are not
strong yet, Rosamund. We cannot decide anything in a hurry."

"How surprised you are to find that I am willing to be nice to you!" she
murmured. "But why not? You cannot know why I have so suddenly changed
my mind about you--and I have changed it. I have seen the truth these
few minutes. There is a reason, Everard, why I should not kill you."

"What is it?" he demanded.

She shook her head with all the joy of a child who keeps a secret.

"You are clever," she said. "I will leave you to find it out. I am
excited now, and I want you to go away for a little time. Ple