After lying a little while, she said softly, against his cheek, with a sigh: "Oh dear! All this wouldn't have happened, if----"
He understood what she meant, and passed his disengaged hand across his forehead. "No," he said, "it wouldn't." And at the words they both saw Norby and the rich men as the powers of evil against which their indignation might rise; and instead of feeling themselves guilty, they began to feel themselves as a kind of champions of right and truth. For him especially it was so good to hear this from her; for now she no longer doubted either.
Outside the spring night was passing slowly. They could hear the sound of rain on the doorstep, and of the brook that ran down past their house from the little valley.
She had been lying some time looking at the window, when she said: "Perhaps Haarstad's widow was pressed into making that declaration too!"
This suspicion of his, that she had abhorred before, she now felt a desire to cling to; there was a relief, a kind of acquittal in it.
They tried to close their eyes and be silent, but neither of them could sleep, and both wanted to go on listening to their defence.
"Well, now they'll go to America, most of the work-people," he said, and left her to say the rest. And in a little while she said: "All those who can work are likely to go, when things are managed as they are here."
He felt such pleasure and comfort every time she said what he had so often said. She was quite on his side at last. At last she, too, felt convinced.
"And you had thought of establishing a pension fund for them, too," she said.
"And how well the working men lived! I remember when their wives brought them their meals how pleased and happy they looked!"
The night was very long; but they kept close to one another, and talked at intervals about the same thing, as if it were a fire that had to be kept up. She even ventured to say: "Don't you think people would have got pretty good interest on their money, if only you could have gone on in peace?"
"Yes, of course! Why, it was improving all the time--until the rich men grew frightened."
"Yes, I haven't understood until now, what a disappointment it must have been for you," she said with feeling; and burying her head in his shoulder she whispered: "Can you forgive me, Henry? I haven't been what I should have been."