" Lady
Caroom smiled at him thoughtfully.
"Thank you for the warning," she said, "but I can take care of myself.
I do not feel even obliged to deny myself the pleasure of your society."
"No, you won't do that," he remarked. "You see, so many people bore
you, and I don't."
"It is true," she admitted. "You pay me nothing but unspoken
compliments, and you devote a considerable amount of ingenuity to
conceal the real meaning of everything you say. Now some people might
not like that. I adore it."
"Catherine, will you marry me?"
"Certainly not! I'm much too busy looking after Sybil, and in any case
you've had your answer, my friend."
"You will marry me," he said, deliberately, "in less than two
years--perhaps in less than one. Why can't you make your mind up to
it?"
"You know why, Arranmore," she said, quietly. "If you were the man I
remember many years ago, the man I have wasted many hours of my life
thinking about, I would not hesitate for a moment. I loved that man,
and I have always loved him. But, Arranmore, I cannot recognize him in
you. If these terrible things which you have suffered, these follies
which you have committed, have withered you up so that there remains no
trace of the man I once cared for, do you blame me for refusing you? I
will not marry a stranger, Arranmore, and I not only don't know you, but
I am a little afraid of you.
Pages:
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298