Page 455 - of-human-bondage-

He turned scarlet.
‘I beg your pardon. I won’t detain you.’
‘You can please yourself.’
She went on, and he with a sinking heart made his way
home to breakfast. He hated her. He knew he was a fool
to bother about her; she was not the sort of woman who
would ever care two straws for him, and she must look upon
his deformity with distaste. He made up his mind that he
would not go in to tea that afternoon, but, hating himself,
he went. She nodded to him as he came in and smiled.
‘I expect I was rather short with you this morning,’ she
said. ‘You see, I didn’t expect you, and it came like a sur-
prise.’
‘Oh, it doesn’t matter at all.’
He felt that a great weight had suddenly been lifted from
him. He was infinitely grateful for one word of kindness.
‘Why don’t you sit down?’ he asked. ‘Nobody’s wanting
you just now.’
‘I don’t mind if I do.’
He looked at her, but could think of nothing to say; he
racked his brains anxiously, seeking for a remark which
should keep her by him; he wanted to tell her how much she
meant to him; but he did not know how to make love now
that he loved in earnest.
‘Where’s your friend with the fair moustache? I haven’t
seen him lately”
‘Oh, he’s gone back to Birmingham. He’s in business
there. He only comes up to London every now and again.’
‘Is he in love with you?’

Of Human Bondage