He put her question by for the moment; he told her more about Chad.

"It would have been impossible to meet me more than he did last night on the question of the infamy of not sticking to her." "Is that what you called it for him--'infamy' ?" "Oh rather! I described to him in detail the base creature he'd be, and he quite agrees with me about it." "So that it's really as if you had nailed him ?" "Quite really as if--! I told him I should curse him." "Oh," she smiled, "you HAVE done it." And then having thought again: "You CAN'T after that propose--!" Yet she scanned his face.
"Propose again to Mrs.Newsome ?" She hesitated afresh, but she brought it out.

"I've never believed, you know, that you did propose.

I always believed it was really she--and, so far as that goes, I can understand it.

What I mean is," she explained, "that with such a spirit--the spirit of curses!--your breach is past mending.