Even the very atmosphere of the moment rushes back, and thoughts and
feelings we had begun to believe inert and negligible reassert themselves
with the old irresistible force with which they swayed us years ago.
As Ann light-heartedly proffered her sprig of heliotrope, Eliot's face
whitened beneath its tan, and with a swift, almost violent movement he
snatched the spray from her hand and, flinging it on to the ground, set
his foot upon it.
She looked up in astonishment, then shrank back with a low exclamation of
dismay as she saw his face. It was altered almost out of recognition--the
mouth set in a grim straight line of bitterness, the eyes so hard that they
looked cruel.
"What is it?" she faltered. "What have I done?"
With an immense effort he seemed to recover himself.
"Nothing," he returned harshly. "Only reminded me that a man is a double
fool who tempts Providence a second time."
Ann quivered as though he had struck her.
"I--I don't understand," she said, her voice hardly; more than a mere
thread of sound.
He gave a short laugh.
"Don't you? Will you understand if I tell you this--that I'm shut out from
the 'happy garden' by the gates of memory, now and always.
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