The girl--Therese was her name--had a little package under her arm, as if she had been shopping. She was not well dressed, as when George had met her before, and doubtless she thought that was the reason for his lack of cordiality. This made him rather ashamed, and so, only half realizing what he was doing, he began to stroll along with her.
“Why did you never come to see me again?” she asked.
George hesitated. “I--I--” he stammered--“I’ve been married since then.”
She laughed. “Oh! So that’s it!” And then, as they came to a bench under some trees, “Won’t you sit down a while?” There was allurement in her glance, but it made George shudder. It was incredible to him that he had ever been attracted by this crude girl. The spell was now broken completely.
She quickly saw that something was wrong. “You don’t seem very cheerful,” she said. “What’s the matter?”
And the man, staring at her, suddenly blurted out, “Don’t you know what you did to me?”
“What I did to you?” Therese repeated wonderingly.
And then she tried to meet his gaze and could not. “Why--” she stammered.
There was silence between them. When George spoke again his voice was low and trembling. “You ruined my whole life,” he said--“not only mine, but my family’s. How could you do it?”
She strove to laugh it off. “A cheerful topic for an afternoon stroll!”
For a long while George did not answer. Then, almost in a whisper, he repeated, “How could you do it?”
“Some one did it to me first,” was the response. “A man!”
“Yes,” said George, “but he didn’t know.”
“How can you tell whether he knew or not?”
Therese hesitated. “Yes, I knew,” she said at last, defiantly. “I have known for years.”
There followed a long pause. At last he resumed, “I don’t want to blame you; there’s nothing to be gained by that; it’s done, and can’t be undone. But sometimes I wonder about it. I should like to understand--why did you do it?”
“Why? That’s easy enough. I did it because I have to live.”
“I thought you were a--a--” He hesitated.
“You thought I was respectable,” laughed Therese. “Well, that’s just a little game I was playing on you.”
“But I didn’t give you any money!” he argued.
“Not that time,” she said, “but I thought you would come back.”
He sat gazing at her. “And you earn your living that way still?” he asked. “When you know what’s the matter with you! When you know--”