She was frankly glad to receive them, but at the same time she was troubled.

For in spite of their careful reticence, every now and then a phrase leaped out--it might be merely the repetition of some trivial sentence which she had spoken long ago and long ago forgotten--and she could not but see that in spite of her prayer she lived perpetually in his thoughts.

There was a strain of hopefulness too, as though he moved in a world painted with new colours and suddenly grown musical.

Ethne had never freed herself from the haunting fear that one man's life had been spoilt because of her; she had never faltered from her determination that this should not happen with a second.

Only with Durrance's letters before her she could not evade a new and perplexing question.