The consequences to her reputation if they spent the night so closely together was one reason; a more selfish and more moving one was the trouble which she gave him.

The finding and disposing of Drew should be the one thing to occupy his thoughts, but the laughter of the girl the moment before had suddenly obsessed him, wiped out the rest of the world, enmeshed them hopelessly together in the solemn net of the night, the silence.

He resented it; in a vague way he was angry with Sally Fortune.
His foot was in the stirrup when it occurred to him that no matter how softly he withdrew she would know and follow him.

It seemed to Anthony that for the first time in his life he was not alone.

In other days social bonds had fallen very lightly on him; the men he knew were acquaintances, not friends; the women had been merely border decorations, variations of light and shadow which never shone really deep into the stream of his existence; even his father had not been near him; but by the irresistible force of circumstances which he could not control, this girl was forced bodily upon his consciousness.
Now he heard a cheery, faint crackling from the house and a rosy glow pervaded the gloom beyond the doorway.