He thought of many things he might have said to her at the moment; but her period was not to be changed to comma or semicolon; she was satisfied with the punctuation and had, so to speak, run away with the pencil! She had tossed his political aims and strifes into the air with a bewildering dismissal, and he stood like a child whose toy balloon has slipped away, half-pleased at its flight, half-mourning its loss.
She picked up some books she had left on a stand in the hall.

He stood with his hands in his pockets, watching her ascent, hearing the swish of her skirts on the stairs: but she did not look back.

She was humming softly to herself as she passed out of sight..