Page:The Toll of the Bush.pdf/101

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
VIII
THE PRIEST AND THE LOVER
85

and, however evolved, she accepted the situation frankly.

‘I am sorry,’ she said gently, ‘because it is impossible.’

‘I have taken you very much by surprise, no doubt,’ he said.

‘I think that has no influence on my reply. I can only say that I do not regard you in the way that you would wish.’

‘Perhaps at a later date,’ Mr. Fletcher suggested, ‘you will give me leave to address you on this subject again. It is probably unfortunate that my manner has not led you to anticipate such a disclosure. Forgive me if I press the point—I would not willingly abandon hope in a matter which so vitally affects my life’s happiness.’

‘I do not think it would be of any use,’ Eve replied, ‘If I were to yield to that you would have just grounds for believing that your wishes might ultimately be realised.’

‘I am prepared to take the risk of a fresh disappointment.’

Eve shook her head. ‘It would not be right for me to allow you,’ she said; ‘for I do not see any possibility of a change in my feelings.’

Mr. Fletcher moved a few steps from where he had. been standing. ‘Is there—may I ask—any objection which I should be forced to regard as insuperable?’

Eve looked at him steadily, her face showing a faint surprise. ‘Do you not regard my disinclination as insuperable?’ she asked.

‘Not altogether,’ Mr. Fletcher confessed.

The quietness of his manner had betrayed the

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.