
waited there in my freedom till the other day; he might have come back, in spite
of everything, you know. But at last I wrote to an address he had given me, and
told him I was going to London - that I accepted his release, and that
henceforth all his claims upon me must be at end.«
    »Is he in Paris?«
    »In the south of France, I believe. But that is nothing to me. What I
inherited from my aunt makes me independent; there is no need of any
arrangements about money, fortunately. I dare say he foresaw this when he
expressed a wish that I should keep this quite apart from our other sources of
income, and manage it myself.«
    Eleanor felt that the last word was said. There was no distress in Cecily's
voice or manner, nothing but the simplicity of a clear decision, which seemed to
carry with it hardly a regret.
    »A tragedy can go no further than its fifth act,« Cecily pursued. »I have
shed all my tears long since, exhausted all my indignation. You can't think what
an everyday affair it has become with me. I am afraid that means that I am in a
great measure demoralized by these experiences. I can only hope that some day I
shall recover my finer feeling.«
    »You haven't seen Miriam?«
    »No, and I don't know whether I can. There is no need for you to keep
silence about me when you see her; what has happened can't be hidden. I thought
it possible that Reuben might have written and told her. If she comes here, I
shall welcome her, but it is better for me not to seek her first.«
    »If he writes to her,« asked Eleanor, with a grave look, »is it likely that
he will try to defend himself?«
    »I understand you. You mean, defend himself by throwing blame of one kind or
another on me. No, that is impossible. He has no desire to do that. What makes
our relations to each other so hopeless, is that we can be so coldly just. In me
there is no resentment left, and in him no wish to disguise his own conduct. We
are simply nothing to each other. I appreciate all the good in him and all the
evil; and to him my own qualities are equally well known. We have reached the
point of studying each other in a mood of scientific impartiality - surely the
most horrible thing in man
