This was the first time he had come into physical contact with another woman since he had met Thea. And this time, too, he had not really been responsible: it had happened of its own accord, as if he had been impelled to act by some power outside himself. Gurdweill did not admit his guilt. He was in a strange, unfamiliar state of mind. He felt as if he had been momentarily relieved of a number of things that had been troubling him, like a man shut up in a small, stuffy room who had opened the window for a moment to breathe fresh air. Various insults that had sunk to the bottom of his heart like stones had now found some sort of compensation. And it seemed that Thea’s domination of him, too, was no longer complete. So Gurdweill was not yet absolutely lost, and there was no need for him to despair. What had happened had restored his balance to a certain extent and rid him for a while of the constant pressure. All this Gurdweill felt obscurely. Suddenly he was seized by an exhilarating sensation of confidence, such as he had not experienced for a very long time. He felt as if his true, private, essential worth had all at once been restored to him, his worth as a man, and for a moment he was confident that from now on everything would go smoothly. In his mind’s eye he saw Thea sitting and waiting for him impatiently at home. She opened a book and put it down again, too impatient to read. Then she lay down on the couch and lit a cigarette. She took a few puffs, threw it down, and jumped up again. She went out to ask the landlady exactly when he had left the house and whether he had said anything about when he would be back. Gurdweill saw and heard everything in his imagination. He heard the old lady reply in her usual whisper: ‘Ah, a decent man, Herr Gurdweill, a very decent man, aie, aie, aie! And quiet and friendly — pssss!’ Thea went back to the room and looked out of the window, turned away and paced about the room, took up the book again, opened it, and in a brief moment of distraction, when her attention was caught by something in the book, the door opened and he walked in. And Thea jumped on him and fell lovingly round his neck. ‘My darling, precious little rabbit, where have you been all this time? I felt as if a whole year had passed since I saw you. And I was afraid that something had happened to you. I suddenly felt so terribly lonely that I thought I would die. The world seemed empty to me, as if there was nobody in it. No, no, my darling, you must never leave me alone again. I can’t bear the loneliness. Without you I’m bereft, I’m nothing. From now on you must never leave me. I’ll go with you wherever you go.’