I don't mean to try for a separation. I
can't leave him entirely to his own devices. If I did, he would
certainly go from bad to worse."
"And if you don't what will become of you? I think much more of such a
life would make you reckless."
She was silent for a little, then she exclaimed: "Help me not to grow
reckless. I am so alone."
He took her hands and looked down into her eyes. A sudden deep flush
spread over his face, smoothing out all the lines, as she had seen it
do once before, and transforming him.
"It is like walking on the edge of a precipice in the dark," he said in
a low voice, and his grasp tightened as he spoke.
There was something mesmeric in his touch that overpowered Ideala. She
felt a change in herself at the moment, and she was never the same
woman again.
"I will help you, if I can," he said, after another pause, and then he
let her go.
After that they talked for some time. He tried to persuade her to
reconsider her decision and leave her husband. He honestly believed it
was the best thing she could do, and told her why he thought so. She
acknowledged the wisdom of his advice, but declined to follow it, and
he was somewhat puzzled, for the reasons she gave were hardly enough to
account for her determination.
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