One never gets what one wants out of any of them." Her emotional state and her confusion would have made her an easy prey if Helen had wished to argue or had wished to draw confidences.

But instead of talking she fell into a profound silence as they walked on.
Aimless, trivial, meaningless, oh no--what she had seen at tea made it impossible for her to believe that.

The little jokes, the chatter, the inanities of the afternoon had shrivelled up before her eyes.

Underneath the likings and spites, the comings together and partings, great things were happening--terrible things, because they were so great.

Her sense of safety was shaken, as if beneath twigs and dead leaves she had seen the movement of a snake.