But in the end he would take her in his arms and hold her close.
Lily! Lily!
It was the bitterness of his disappointment that made him brutal.
Wicked and unscrupulous as he was with men, with women he was as
gentle as he was cruel. He put them from him relentlessly and
kissed them good-by. It was his boast that any one of them would
come back to him if he wanted her.
Edith, listening for his step, was startled at the change in his
face when he saw her.
"You!" he said thickly. "What are you doing here?"
"I've been waiting all evening. I want to ask you something."
He flung his hat into a chair and faced her.
"Well?"
"Is it true that you are married to Lily Cardew?"
"If I am, what are you going to do about it?" His eyes were wary,
but his color was coming back. He was breathing more easily.
"I only heard it to-day. I must know, Lou. It's awfully important."
"What did you hear?" He was watching her closely.
"I heard you were married, but that she had left you."
It seemed to him incredible that she had come there to taunt him,
she who was responsible for the shipwreck of his marriage. That
she could come there and face him, and not expect him to kill her
where she stood.
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