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Hesaidquietly,inwearyastonishment,"Ithoughtyouwouldbegladtodiscoverthetruth.Ithoughtyouwouldprefertoknow—forthesakeofwhateverloveorrespectyoufeltforme—thatifIbetrayedyou,itwasnotcheaplyandcasually,itwasnotforachorusgirl,butforthecleanestandmostseriousfeelingofmylife."
Theferociousspringwithwhichshewhirledtohimwasinvoluntary,aswasthenakedtwistofhatredinherface."Oh,yougoddamnfool!"
Heremainedsilent.
Hercomposurereturned,withthefaintsuggestionofasmileofsecretmockery."Ibelieveyou’rewaitingformyanswer?"shesaid."No,Iwon’tdivorceyou.Don’teverhopeforthat.Weshallcontinueasweare—ifthatiswhatyouofferedandifyouthinkitcancontinue.Seewhetheryoucanfloutallmoralprinciplesandgetawaywithit!"
Hedidnotlistentoherwhileshereachedforhercoat,tellinghimthatshewasgoingbacktotheirhome.Hebarelynoticeditwhenthedoorclosedafterher.Hestoodmotionless,heldbyafeelinghehadneverexperiencedbefore.Heknewthathewouldhavetothinklater,tothinkandunderstand,butforthemomenthewantednothingbuttoobservethewonderofwhathefelt.
Itwasasenseoffreedom,asifhestoodaloneinthemidstofanendlesssweepofcleanair,withonlythememoryofsomeweightthathadbeentornoffhisshoulders.Itwasthefeelingofanimmensedeliverance
