.

.
She had seen, last December, how reasonable it was of him to refuse this domestic sort of intimacy with her; now, she found herself intensely longing that he would not persist in his refusal.
Suddenly Michael awoke to the fact of her presence, and abruptly he moved away from her.
"Thanks, Sylvia," he said.

"I know I have your--your good wishes.
But--well, I am sure you understand." She understood perfectly well.

And the understanding of it cut her to the quick.
"Have you got any right to behave like that to me, Michael ?" she asked.
"What have I done that you should treat me quite like that ?" He looked at her, completely recalled in mind to her alone.

All the hopes and desires of the autumn smote him with encompassing blows.
"Yes, every right," he said.