The Man in Possession — page 270: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE MAN IN POSSESSION. 265. ‘«Surely,” she said, ‘‘ you do not blame me for— that?” ‘“No,” he said. ‘‘I have never blamed you for anything. ... 1 have thought always that your heart was in the right place, whatever your actions seemed to convey.” ‘‘T hope,” she said seriously, ‘‘that they never conveyed there was anything anatomically wrong with me. I have always been blessed with perfect health.” ‘‘Annette,” he said suddenly, ‘‘I can’t jest. I have suffered too much and I am not—naturally— light-minded. I want you to say you are glad to see me—glad we have met—that the old friendship is not forgotten. Six yearsin a long time. Six years of silence—and waiting.” She looked up at him quite simply and seriously as achild might have done. ‘‘ Yes,” she said, ‘‘a long time—a horribly long time to realise that the world can be—empty.”’ ‘‘ Annette,” he exclaimed quickly, and then trembled and turned pale. ‘‘ Did you—find it so?” he asked, his voice low and shaken by a storm of feeling he dared not let loose. The colour flushed into her cheek and then died out. ‘‘Yes,” she said. He saw that she was greatly moved. He too had lost all the ordinary composure and self-control of his manner. He glanced round and was not pleased to see that the few people still left at the further end of the drawing-room were watching them with idle curiosity. ‘‘T can’t speak to you here,” he said huskily, ECOMNCE OOO SS) (SO