"If I had a child," she said quickly.
His forehead creased, line upon line. He took a deep breath and leant
back in his chair.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"If I had a child," she repeated, "I shouldn't be lonely then. I
should have some one to do all these things for then. I should have
something to live for."
Traill stood abruptly to his feet. "You're--you're crazy!" he
exclaimed.
She stood beside him. Her hand stretched out nervously, touching his
coat.
"No, no, I'm not. I mean it. Can't you see what it would mean to me,
here alone, night after night, night after night, no one, absolutely
no one but myself."
He studied her in amazement. "If it were any other woman than you,"
he said suddenly, "I should think this was a put-up job to compromise
me--a cunning, put-up job. But you! It's amazing! I don't understand
it. Why, you'd brand yourself to the whole world. It'd be a mill stone
round your neck, not a child."
"Don't you think I'm branded plainly enough already? What do you
think a man like Devenish thinks of me?"
"Oh, Devenish be damned! There are other men than Devenish in the
world. Men who know nothing; men who'd be ready to marry you.
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