Sally had
done none of these things. With a giant effort she had struggled
against her inertia. There she was before him, walking up and down
the room, talking anything that came into her head with forced
courage, feigning a strength which any fool could see she did not
possess.
At last his wonder dragged the question from him. "Why are you going
on like this?" he asked suddenly.
She stopped abruptly in her walking, turned and faced him with lips
trembling and fingers picking at the braid upon her dress.
"Like what?"
"Like this. Walking up and down the room. Trying to talk all sorts
of courageous nonsense, and showing how utterly unnerved you are in
everything you say."
"I'm not unnerved!" Her hand wandered blindly to the table near which
she was standing. She leant on it imperceptibly for support. "I'm
not unnerved," she repeated.
"But you are, my dear child. And why should you want to hide that
from me?"
She stood there, swaying slightly, taking deep breaths to aid her
in her effort.
"Well, I assure you I feel absolutely all right now. I'm not a bit
weak now! I know I was ridiculously foolish--"
"Yes, that's the point I want to get at," he interrupted; "that's
just the point I want to get hold of.
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