She laid her warm, soft lips upon it! And though I did not love her--did
not even trust her--the magnetic touch thrilled every nerve. I took my
hand away.
"Ah, cousin!" she said, looking at me with those dark, dangerous eyes,
"you love even your dog Hector better than me."
She was so near to me that the perfume from her flowers reached me. It
was by a desperate effort I broke the spell.
"This room is insufferably warm," I said; "I am going into the garden.
You had better see if Clare wants anything, Coralie."
So, like many another man, I ran away, not knowing how to meet my fair
adversary on equal grounds.
CHAPTER VIII.
Walking among the whispering leaves, the conclusion I came to was that I
must take some precaution, or Coralie d'Aubergne would marry me whether
I was willing or not. A siren is a faint shadow compared with a
beautiful woman resolved to win a man whether he wants winning or not.
Why not risk my fate and ask Agatha to be my wife? There was a faint
hope in my heart that she would not refuse me, yet she was so modest, so
retiring, that though I had most perseveringly sought her favor since
the first moment I had seen her, I could not tell whether she cared for
me or not.
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