The Edge of Truth
'It was the truth, vivid and monstrous, that all the while he had waited the wait was itself his portion' (Henry James)
What evoked the actions that had so astonished him in the course of their encounter scarcely matters, being probably some off-handed comment spoken as they rekindled their acquaintance. He had tagged along with friends to lunch at the house where she was staying, after which the party dispersed to peruse the treasures occupying its great rooms. Wandering the corridors that October afternoon, he lingered in front of a larg...