There he had stood under the lamp waiting for
her--the man whom she had taken for Guy. She saw herself springing
to meet him with eager welcome on her lips and swift-growing
misgiving at her heart. How good he had been to her! That thought
came up above the rest, crowding out the memory of her first
terrible dismay. He had surrounded her with a care as chivalrous
as any of the friends of her former life could have displayed. He
had sheltered her from the dreadful loneliness, and from the world
upon the mercy of which she had been so completely thrown. He had
not seemed to bestow, but she realized now how at every turn his
goodness had provided, his strength had shielded. He had not
suffered her to feel the obligation under which she was placed. He
had treated her merely as a comrade in distress. He had given her
freely the very best that a man could offer, and he had done it in
a fashion that had made acceptance easy, almost inevitable.
Her thoughts travelled onwards till they came to her marriage.
Again the memory of the man's unfailing chivalry came before all
else. Again, how good he had been to her! And she had taken full
advantage of his goodness. For the first time she wondered if she
had been justified in so doing. She asked herself if she had
behaved contemptibly. She had not been ready to make a full
surrender, and he had not asked for it.
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