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She looked so careless and so bright that he could not find it in his heart to vex her straight away; so they talked lightly of this and that for a full quarter of an hour, while Dick basked recklessly in her smiles, and almost persuaded himself that this was happiness. But at last came a pause; and then he nerved himself to speak.

“Alice,” he began gravely, “you know our few words last night? You said I might speak to you today.”

“Well,” said Alice, carelessly.

“You know very well what I want to speak about,” rather warmly.

Alice turned down her leaf, shut up her magazine, leant back, and surveyed him calmly.

“I wish I didn’t, Dick,” she answered, half in annoyance, half in pity. But her look added: “Say on; let us have it out and over.”

“Last night,” said Dick smoothly, “I asked you if you remembered old days, and what there was between us, and so on. You said you didn’t want to remember them, and talked about your ‘childhood.’ You said you were altered, and that, of course, I must be altered.” He paused.