"I am afraid I cannot discuss the question with you," Wallace replied evenly. "I can only carry out my instructions. I have told you what they are, and what my opinion is. I am sorry to inconvenience you, but I have no alternative."
"Scarcely to-night; but I must ask you to get away as soon as you can."
"I would like to speak to Mr. Harding, if you don't mind," she said presently.
"Then I will leave you, for I have been steadily travelling all last night and to-day till I arrived here, and shall be glad to get to bed," Wallace answered. "Any arrangement you can make, Harding, to assist Mrs. Eustace, I shall be pleased to hear about. You will quite understand, Mrs. Eustace, that in asking you to vacate the premises the bank is merely actuated by ordinary considerations and is in no way acting vindictively or harshly."
She inclined her head slightly in response, but otherwise made no sign as Wallace left the room.
For some time after he had gone she remained silent, Harding waiting for her to speak. Raising her head, she looked him steadily in the face.
"I suppose I ought to call you Mr. Harding now," she began, "but I can't, Fred, I can't."
There came another silence, the woman unable to trust herself to continue, the man fearing to begin.
"How life mocks one," she said, half to herself. "Surely it is punishment enough that I should have to turn to you in my distress, humiliating enough even to satisfy your desire for retribution. I do not blame you, Fred. I deserve it all. I treated you vilely."
"Is there any necessity to refer to that now?" he asked. "I told you the curtain had been rung down for ever upon that. I have no wish either to punish or humiliate you. I don't think that I have given you reason to believe that I do. If you think there has been any reason, I can only say you are mistaken."
She started impulsively to her feet and stood in front of him, holding her hands to him.
"Fred, I must say it. I cannot bear this longer. It may make you hate me--detest and despise me, but I must say it. If you had only shown resentment or anger or spite for the way in which I treated you, it would not have been so hard to bear. Oh, don't you see? Don't you understand? Oh, isn't there one scrap of pity left in you for me? I was trapped into marriage, Fred. I never loved him, never, never! He--oh, have some pity on me, Fred, some pity."