She refused.

Then he drew her to him, kissed her hair, and cajoled her.

Her troubled eyes looked deep into his.
"Ah, then!" she said.

"No, let me undress." "Not for the world!" "Yes!" "Oh, the scene of the other night beginning all over again," he murmured, sinking, overwhelmed, into a chair.

He felt borne down, burdened by an unspeakable weariness.
He undressed beside the fire and warmed himself while waiting for her to get to bed.