K. was puzzled.

"What about it?" he said.

But Sidney's agile mind had already traveled on. This K. she had never

known, who had lived in a wonderful house, and all the rest of it--he must

have known numbers of lovely women, his own sort of women, who had traveled

and knew all kinds of things: girls like the daughters of the Executive

Committee who came in from their country places in summer with great

armfuls of flowers, and hurried off, after consulting their jeweled

watches, to luncheon or tea or tennis.

"Go on," said Sidney dully. "Tell me about the women you have known, your

friends, the ones you liked and the ones who liked you."

K. was rather apologetic.

"I've always been so busy," he confessed. "I know a lot, but I don't think

they would interest you. They don't do anything, you know--they travel

around and have a good time. They're rather nice to look at, some of them.

But when you've said that you've said it all."

Nice to look at! Of course they would be, with nothing else to think of in

all the world but of how they looked.

Suddenly Sidney felt very tired. She wanted to go back to the hospital,

and turn the key in the door of her little room, and lie with her face down

on the bed.

"Would you mind very much if I asked you to take me back?"

He did mind. He had a depressed feeling that the evening had failed. And

his depression grew as he brought the car around. He understood, he

thought. She was grieving about Max. After all, a girl couldn't care as

she had for a year and a half, and then give a man up because of another

woman, without a wrench.

"Do you really want to go home, Sidney, or were you tired of sitting there?

In that case, we could drive around for an hour or two. I'll not talk if

you'd like to be quiet." Being with K. had become an agony, now that she

realized how wrong Christine had been, and that their worlds, hers and

K.'s, had only touched for a time. Soon they would be separated by as wide

a gulf as that which lay between the cherry bookcase--for instance,--and a

book-lined library hung with family portraits. But she was not disposed to

skimp as to agony. She would go through with it, every word a stab, if

only she might sit beside K. a little longer, might feel the touch of his

old gray coat against her arm. "I'd like to ride, if you don't mind."




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