'Don't fence with me. I mean, really. Are you the same as when I went
away?'
'Aylmer, do you think we had better talk about it?'
'We must. I must. I can't endure the torture of seeing you just like
anybody else. You know I told you--' He stopped a moment.
'You told me you'd never be a mere friend,' she said. 'But everything's
so different now!'
'It isn't different; that's where you're wrong. You're just the same,
and so am I. Except that I care for you far more than I ever did.'
'Oh, Aylmer!'
'When I thought I was dying I showed your little photograph to Miss
Clay. I told her all about it. I suppose I was rather mad. It was just
after an operation. It doesn't matter a bit; she wouldn't ever say
a word.'
'I'm sure she wouldn't.'
'I had to confide in somebody,' he went on. 'I told her to send you back
the photograph, and I told her that my greatest wish was to see
you again.'
'Well, my dear boy, we have met again! Do change your mind from what you
said last! I mean when you went away.' She spoke in an imploring tone.
'Do you wish to be friends, then?'
She hesitated a moment, then said: 'Yes, I do.'
CHAPTER XV
After a moment's pause he said: 'You say everything's changed.
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