“Oh，itisn’texactlythat，“shesaidquietly。“Iamquitewillingtoadmitwhatallthetouristsandchancevisitorscallthefascinationoftheseplaces。Ihappentodislikethem，thatisall。
PerhapsitisbecauseIlivehere，becauseIseethemdaybyday；
perhapsbecausethesightofthemandthethoughtofthemhavebecomewovenintomylife。“
Shewastalkinghalftoherself。Foramoment，eventheknowledgeofhispresencehadescapedher。Hamel，however，didnotrealisethatfact。Hewelcomedherconfidenceasasignofrelaxationfromthefrigidityofherearlierdemeanour。
“Thatseemshard，“heobservedsympathetically。“Itseemsoddtohearyoutalklikethat，too。Yourlife，surely，oughttobepleasantenough。“