But, even in this new freedom, there was also a novel sense of restraint, in the ever present knowledge that they two, of all people in the world, were alone together in surely as strange and anomalous a companionship as the world had ever seen. And these mingled feelings again made at once for speech and for silence, and so their talk was intermittent and discursive. Pavlof, when he spoke to her, kept his eyes rigidly on the glowing embers, lest she should see in them that which would not be suppressed, but which he still would not have her see. And how should he, untutored man, know that she saw it all in the very stiffness of his manner, that it cried aloud to her in every tone of his voice whenever he pronounced her name. For to woman has been given a sense denied as a rule to man. She knows by instinct when a man loves her. And Hope Palma knew that this man loved her still, in spite of himself, as much as he had ever loved her, and that was with every fibre of his being. And so, when her eyes rested on him, she already found a difference in him since Anna Vassilievna left them. For eyes, after all, are but windows, and the soul that looks out of them colours all it sees with somewhat of itself. And yet, again, perhaps, after all, there was in him a subtle and almost indefinable change bred of these new circumstances--the unintentional outward manifestation of these mixed feelings of freedom and restraint. He was at once stiffer and gentler than when Anna was there. For then he had to assume a warmth of demeanour befitting their supposed relationship, and to both of them it was merely an assumption and meant nothing. And now that no assumption was necessary, though all the warmth was in him still, his fear lest his real feelings should show through stiffened his manner and made it seem unduly cold and formal. Many were the nights they sat so, during the first weeks of their release from Madame Roskova's kindly supervision, discussing at times, and from every point of view, Serge's chances of escape and the prospects of their hearing of it, but as often sitting in the silence of their long, long thoughts. "You really think Serge would be able to get clear away, Paul Ivanuitch?" she would ask. "From all we could learn there was no great difficulty, Hope Ivanovna. It is not like Kara, you see. Will you pardon me reminding you again that here I am Serge Petrovitch----" "Oh, I am sorry. I cannot get used to it." "It is only that I fear if you call me Paul Ivanuitch in private it may slip out at other times and lead to trouble." "I will remember. You see, I have always thought of you as Paul Ivanuitch, and it is not easy to begin thinking of you as Serge Petrovitch." "I know, and I am sorry for the necessity. If it were not of importance I would not ask it." "And when do you think is the soonest we could hear from him?"