Атлант расправил плечи

           Shewasstaringathim,herfacenakedinbewilderment,withnomystery,nopretenseorprotection;whatevercalculationsshehadmade,thiswasathingshehadnotexpected.

           "I’msorry,Lillian..."hesaid,hisvoicelow,avoiceofsincerityandofsuffering.

           Shedidnotanswer.

           "I’msorry...It’sjustthatI’mverytired,"headded,hisvoicelifeless;hewasbrokenbythetriplelie,onepartofwhichwasadisloyaltyhecouldnotbeartoface;itwasnotthedisloyaltytoLillian.

           Shegaveabriefchuckle."Well,ifthat’stheeffectyourworkhasonyou,Imaycometoapproveofit.Doforgiveme,Iwasmerelytryingtodomyduty.Ithoughtthatyouwereasensualistwho’dneverriseabovetheinstinctsofananimalinthegutter.I’mnotoneofthosebitcheswhobelonginit."Shewassnappingthewordsdryly,absently,withoutthinking.Hermindwasonaquestionmark,racingovereverypossibleanswer.

           Itwasherlastsentencethatmadehimfacehersuddenly,facehersimply,directly,notasoneonthedefensiveanylonger."Lillian,whatpurposedoyoulivefor?"heasked.

           "Whatacrudequestion!Noenlightenedpersonwouldeveraskit."

           "Well,whatisitthatenlightenedpeopledowiththeirlives?"

           "Perhapstheydonotattempttodoanything.Thatistheirenlightenment.