"Ever since I was a girl I've had something to be ashamed of through no fault of my own--my drunken father, the street we live in, our genteel poverty; and now, when I seem to have missed all my chances, you come along, and offer me everything I want with the main thing left out.

Oh, I know those cottages where the husband is a stranger, and the neighbours watch them behind the curtains, and pump the servant over the back fence! I'm too proud for that sort of thing.
Oh, what a rotten world this is!" she cried passionately, and burst into a storm of weeping.

It was the most natural action of her life.
Jonah sat and stared at the lights of the Quay, dismayed by her tears but relieved in his mind.

He had spoken at last; already he was framing fresh arguments to persuade her.

Presently she dried her eyes and looked at him with the ghost of a smile.