It would have led to back streets, and involved
and complicated details, and there was something in the fine flame
of girlhood beside him that he felt was incompatible with those
shadows and that dust. And also they were lovers and very deeply in
love. It was amazing how swiftly that draggled shameful London
sparrow-gamin, Eros, took heart from Amanda, and became wonderful,
beautiful, glowing, life-giving, confident, clear-eyed; how he
changed from flesh to sweet fire, and grew until he filled the sky.
So that you see they went to Switzerland and Italy at last very like
two ordinary young people who were not aristocrats at all, had no
theory about the world or their destiny, but were simply just
ardently delighted with the discovery of one another.
Nevertheless Benham was for some time under a vague impression that
in a sort of way still he was going round the world and working out
his destinies.
It was part of the fascination of Amanda that she was never what he
had supposed her to be, and that nothing that he set out to do with
her ever turned out as they had planned it.
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