He had hoped against hope, during her silence and her argument.

But now to be told not only that she would never love him but that she loved another man....
He staggered across the room to the sideboard, opened the drawer, and the thing glistened in his hand.
Joan was as cold as ice.

"I will be true," she whispered to herself.

"I will be true.

Martin, oh, Martin." With a superhuman effort Gilbert caught hold of himself.