He pressed his hand firmer on my head, as if he claimed me: he surrounded me with his arm, _almost_ as if he loved me (I say _almost_--I knew the difference--for I had felt what it was to be loved; but, like him, I had now put love out of the question, and thought only of duty).
Egli mi pigiò la mano sulla testa, come se volesse segnare su di me il proprio dominio, mi cinse con le braccia quasi mi amasse. Dico quasi, perché sapevo che cos'era l'amore, e ora l'avevo escluso pensando solo al dovere.