You acted so strangely toward me, I accepted that as a sign of guilt; it was a horror unspeakable." "You thought--you actually thought I did that ?" he asked, hardly trusting his own ears.
"What else could I think?
What else could I think ?" This new conception stunned him, left him staring at her, utterly unable to control his speech.

Should he tell her?
Should he confess his own equally mad mistake?
the reason why all these years had passed without his seeking her?
It would be useless; it would only add to her pain, her sense of wounded pride.

Silence now would be mercy.
"Beth," he said, controlling his voice with an effort, "let us think of all this as passed away forever.

Let us not talk about it, let us not think about it any more.

You have reached the height which you set out to gain; or, possibly you have not yet fully attained to your ideal, yet you have travelled far toward it.