She helped the old lady to clear the table, then ran upstairs.
It was an unspeakable relief to be alone.

She had never known such a painful feeling of guilt as whilst she sat with Gilbert and Lydia regarding her.

Yet why?
Her secret, she tried to assure herself, was quite innocent, trivial indeed.

But why had she been unable to come straight home?
What had held her away, as forcibly as if a hand had lain upon her?
She moved aimlessly about the room.

It was true that these last two days she had agitated herself with anticipation of the concert, but it was something quite different which now put confusion into her thought, and every now and then actually caught her breath.