BAMBI
331
“Do you remember Christmas Eve, when I came home?”
“Yes.”
“Did you notice anything different about me?”
“How, different?”
“Did it occur to you that I cared about you, for the first time?”
“I— I— suspicioned it a little.”
“Then you deliberately ignored it because you did not want my love?”
“I— I— didn’t mean to ignore it.”
“But you did.”
“I wasn’t sure; you never spoke of it, never said you cared. After that first night I thought I must have been mistaken.”
“But you were glad to be mistaken?”
“No. I was sorry,” she said, softly.
“What?” sharply.
“I wanted your love, Jarvis.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“But I do!”
“But, Strong— you love Strong—”
She rose quickly, her face flushed.
“I love Richard Strong as my friend, and in no other way.”
