"He asked me to try to persuade you not to marry him."
"Well--persuade!"
"To explain how coarse he is."
"How coarse is he?"
"To dilate on the folly of your marrying a poor man with no money
prospects."
"I'm content with his prospects--and with mine through him."
"Seven or eight thousand a year? Your dresses cost much more than
that."
"No matter."
"You must be in love with him!"
"Women take strange fancies."
"What's the matter, Rita? What have you in the back of your mind?"
She looked straight at him. "Nothing about YOU. Not the faintest,
little shadow of a regret." And her hazel eyes smiled mirth of the
kind that is cruelest from woman to man.
"How exasperating you are!"
"Perhaps I've caught the habit from my man."
"Rita, you don't even like me any more."
"No--candidly--I don't."
"I deserve it."
"You do. I can never trust you again."
He shrugged his shoulders; but he could not pretend that he was
indifferent. "It seems to me, if Josh forgave me you might."
"I do--forgive."
"But not even friendship?"
"Not EVEN friendship."
"You are hard."
"I am hard."
"Rita! For God's sake, don't marry that man! You don't love him--
you know you don't.
Pages:
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233