The valet disappeared.

"If I only loved the woman, loved her honestly, boldly, fearlessly, what a difference it would make! I don't love her, and I realize that I never did.

She never touched my heart, only my eye and mind.

I may be incapable of loving any one; perhaps that's it.

But what can have possessed her to leave the theater this time of night ?" A swish of petticoats, a rush of cool air with which mingled an indefinable perfume, and, like a bird taking momentary rest in the passage, she stood poised on the threshold.