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a very good job, and it wouldn’t be necessary for me to do
anything unless I wanted to. He was so fond of me and so
anxious to take care of me. I was awfully touched. And now
I’m very, very fond of him.’
‘Have you got your divorce then?’ asked Philip.
‘I’ve got the decree nisi. It’ll be made absolute in July, and
then we are going to be married at once.’
For some time Philip did not say anything.
‘I wish I hadn’t made such a fool of myself,’ he muttered
at length.
He was thinking of his long, humiliating confession. She
looked at him curiously.
‘You were never really in love with me,’ she said.
‘It’s not very pleasant being in love.’
But he was always able to recover himself quickly, and,
getting up now and holding out his hand, he said:
‘I hope you’ll be very happy. After all, it’s the best thing
that could have happened to you.’
She looked a little wistfully at him as she took his hand
and held it.
‘You’ll come and see me again, won’t you?’ she asked.
‘No,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘It would make me too en-
vious to see you happy.’
He walked slowly away from her house. After all she was
right when she said he had never loved her. He was disap-
pointed, irritated even, but his vanity was more affected
than his heart. He knew that himself. And presently he
grew conscious that the gods had played a very good prac-
tical joke on him, and he laughed at himself mirthlessly. It