She was holding herself in reserve.

As for him, his eyes were hot, there was a dry choking in his throat.

He had passed through many weary and depressed days, struggling always against the grinding monotony of life and his surroundings.

Now for the first time he felt that there was something worse.
"What does it mean ?" he asked once more.
She seemed almost to dilate as she answered him.

Her feet were firmly planted upon the ground.