And yet, as he looked, he felt something crumbling into ruins.

He knew that he had hurt her.

The hardness of his words, the coldness of his smile, his apparently utter indifference to her had sent something that was almost like a quick, physical pain into her eyes.

He drew a step nearer, so that he caught the soft contour of her cheek.

Joanne Gray heard him, and lowered her head slightly, so that he could not see.
She was a moment too late.