"All right," she said mechanically, "all right." And she rose in order to
go. Her eyes were wide and staring, but she saw nothing.
However, he wanted to explain himself thoroughly; she must not leave with
a wrong impression of him. He called her back; he wanted to prove why it
could not have been otherwise, why his conduct was beyond reproach. He
spoke at length and cleared up the matter perfectly; it seemed as if he
had expected this and had prepared himself thoroughly. There were a number
of bagatelles; but it was just the little things that counted with a man
like him, and these little things had gradually made it so clear to him
that they were not compatible. Of course, she was fond of him, a great
deal more so than he deserved; but all the same he was not sure that she
understood and appreciated him fully. This was not said reproachfully,
but--She had said that she was proud of him, and that she enjoyed seeing
the ladies turn and look after him when they walked down the street
together. All right! But that did not prove that she valued his
individuality. She took no pride in the fact that he was, above all, a
somewhat different individuality.
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