And I'm going to be
all of that to you--a stone wall for all your life, Christine. It is
settled. The strongest man in the world is not strong enough for the
weakest woman. I will never cease being proud of the fact that you are
my wife. Don't speak! Lie quiet, dearest. Nothing can change things
for you and me."
"It cannot be, David,--it cannot be!" she moaned, covering her face
with her hands. He held her there, sobbing, against his breast.
Meanwhile Thomas Braddock was pacing the floor of the library almost
directly beneath them. His wife watched him in silence; her eyes
followed the tall, bent figure as it swung back and forth with the
steadiness of a clock's pendulum. He had not spoken since they entered
the room, nor had she moved from the spot where he left her when he
released her hand. All this time she had been holding the wrist he had
grasped so cruelly. It pained her, but she was only physically
conscious of the fact; her mind was not comprehending it.
It was the first time she had seen him in five years. A curious
analysis was going on in her perturbed brain. The change in him! She
could not take her eyes from the haggard, heavily-lined face, so
unlike the blithe, youthful one she had loved, or the bloated, bestial
one she had feared and despised.
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