Jane was over in a corner looking at me . There was no time to collect my wits . The guests were moving out to the dining-room . I took my nerve in my hand , crossed the room , bowed , and the next moment was walking through the hall with Jane 's hand on my arm . The hall was a good long one ; I blessed the architect who had planned it . It gave me time to sort out my ideas . Jane here ! Jane going out to dinner with me , believing me to be Clark Oliver ! Jane -- but it was incredible ! The whole thing was a dream -- or I had gone crazy ! I looked at her sideways when we had got into our places at the table . She was more beautiful than ever , that tall , brown-haired , disdainful Jane . The settlement work story I was inclined to dismiss as a myth . Settlement work in a beautiful woman generally means crowsfeet or a broken heart . Jane , according to my sight and belief , possessed neither . Once upon a time I had been engaged to Jane . I had been idiotically in love with her in those days and still more idiotically believed that she loved me . The trouble was that , although I had been cured of the latter phase of my idiocy , the former had become chronic . I had never been able to get over loving Jane . All through those two years I had hugged the fond hope that sometime I might stumble across her in a mild mood and make matters up .
There was no such thing as seeking her out or writing to her , since she had icily forbidden me to do so , and Jane had a most detestable habit -- XXXXX a woman -- of meaning what she said .
across although at in into of on than through to