She gave a cry like that of a wild beast: “He, never! You must be mad!”
He replied, sadly: “It is no use howling. He has run away with her, he has dishonored her. The best thing is to give her to him. By setting to work in the right way no one will be aware of this escapade.”
She repeated, shaken by terrible emotion: “Never, never; he shall never have Susan. I will never consent.”
Walter murmured, dejectedly: “But he has got her. It is done. And he will keep her and hide her as long as we do not yield. So, to avoid scandal, we must give in at once.”
His wife, torn by pangs she could not acknowledge, repeated: “No, no, I will never consent.”
He said, growing impatient: “But there is no disputing about it. It must be done. Ah, the rascal, how he has done us! He is a sharp one. All the same, we might have made a far better choice as regards position,