The fact did not lessen Miranda's embarrassment.
"The Furnace"
Rose Macaulay
Their embrace did not lessen the strain, and after an instant, something of his own fierce grasp relaxed, and they stood, the dumb victims of emotions that were stronger than their wills, stronger than their aching desires to be at peace with each other.
"The Locusts' Years"
Mary Helen Fee
She felt impelled to break it presently, for it seemed to her that casual conversation would lessen the probability of the somewhat unusual situation having too marked an effect on either of them.
"A Prairie Courtship"
Harold Bindloss