Laura, seated at her desk, held the note towards him resolutely. Now was no time to hesitate, to temporise. If she did not hold to her resolve now, what was there to look forward to? Could one’s life be emptier than hers⁠—emptier, more intolerable, more humiliating?

“Take this note to that address,” she said, putting the envelope and a coin in the boy’s hand. “Wait for an answer.”

The boy shut the letter in his book, which he thrust into his breast pocket, buttoning his coat over it. He nodded and turned away.

Still seated, Laura watched him moving towards the door. Well, it was over now. She had chosen. She had taken the leap. What new life was to begin for her tomorrow? What did it all mean? With an inconceivable rapidity her thoughts began racing through, her brain.