"Nothing could make me happier!" He gave a kind of gesture with his hands as though he threw aside some cherished object.
"So vanishes my last illusion!" he said.

"Well! Let it go!" She gazed at him stupidly.

What did he mean?
Why did he not now emulate the penny-dreadful heroes and say "My darling!" Nothing seemed further from his thoughts.

His eyes rested upon her with a coldness such as she had never seen in them before, and his features hardened.
"I should have known the modern world and modern education better," he went on, speaking more to himself than to her.

"I have had experience enough.