Or it might mean that he, too, had succumbed to the same poverty which she had endured and, being no longer able to maintain himself in the great city, had sought work elsewhere.
As the thought of this last possibility suddenly took possession of her, her heart gave a great bound of relief, and in the quiet that ensued, a certain tenderness for the man whom she had wronged began to well up within her.

She recalled their early life and his unfailing generosity.
Never in all the years she had known him had he refused her the slightest thing which could, in any way, add to her happiness.

Indeed, he had often denied himself many of the luxuries to which a man of his tastes and training was entitled, in order to add to her store.

Nor had he ever restrained her in her whims or her extravagance, and never, in any way, had he curtailed her freedom.

She had been free to come and free to go, and with whom she pleased.