In her walk through life she had jostled mostly villains; and a
villain is no very dangerous foe, for he fights on slippery ground.
Except Paul she had never had to do with a man who was quite honest,
upright, and fearless; and she had fallen into the common error of
thinking that all such are necessarily simple, unsuspicious, and a
little stupid.
She breathed hard, living through years of anxiety in a few moments of
time, and she could only realize that she was helpless, bound hand and
foot in this man's power.
It was he who spoke first. In the smaller crises of life it is usually
the woman who takes this privilege upon herself; but the larger
situations need a man's steadier grasp.
"My dear lady," he said, "if you are content to take my friendship as it
is, it is yours. But I warn you it is no showy drawing-room article.
There will be no compliments, no pretty speeches, no little gifts of
flowers, and such trumpery amenities. It will all be very solid and
middle-aged, like myself."
"You think," returned the lady, "that I am fit for nothing better than
pretty speeches and compliments and floral offerings?"
She broke off with a forced little laugh, and awaited his verdict with
defiant eyes upraised. He returned the gaze through his placid
spectacles; her beauty, in its setting of brilliant dress and furniture,
soft lights, flowers, and a thousand feminine surroundings, failed to
dazzle him.
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