If she had but fulfilled her womanhood, what might not her unshaken faith
have meant to a man fighting a battle against such bitter odds? No
matter how worn with the stress of incessant watchfulness, or wearied by
the strain of constant planning and the need to forestall each move of
the enemy, he would have found, always waiting for him, a refuge, a quiet
haven where love dwelt and where he might forget for a space and be at
rest. All this, which had been hers to give, she had withheld.
The silence deepened in the room. The brilliant sunshine, slanting in
through the slats of the Venetian blinds, seemed out of place in what had
suddenly become a temple of pain. Somewhere outside a robin chirruped,
the cheery little sound holding, for one of the two women sitting there,
a note of hitter mockery.
Suddenly Diana dropped her head on her hands with a shudder.
"Oh, God!" she whispered. "Oh, God!"
Olga leaned forward and laid a hand on her knee.
"You can go back to him now, and give him all the happiness that he has
missed," she said steadily.
"Go back to him?" Diana lifted her head and stared at her with dull
eyes. "Oh, no. I shan't do that."
"You won't go back?" Olga spoke slowly, as though she doubted her own
hearing.
A faint, derisive smile flickered across Diana's lips. "How could I? Do
you suppose that--that having failed him when he asked me to believe in
him, I could go back to him now--now that I know everything? .
Pages:
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306