He was on the point of saying, "And Mr. Lyne goes with you, of course?" when the sound of his name, uttered by Flora, arrested his words: had they been spoken, he must have discovered his mistake; but, alas! they were not, and she continued, "Will you take me to mamma?"
This annoyed him, yet he stood up at once and offered her his arm. As they went she said, "I must thank you once more and for the last time, as we say good-bye to-night, for all your kindness to me when my ankle was sprained,—it was so good-natured of you to condescend to come and lighten my close imprisonment. I cannot say how grateful I feel to you."
"There is no cause for gratitude, Miss Adair; I did nothing for you beyond what I was bound in justice to do." It was now her turn to feel annoyed. "Besides, I enjoyed those hours very much."
"Wonderful! I thought you hated women too much to derive pleasure from their society?"
"Hate them, Miss Adair!—ah! I should do anything but that if I could only trust them. How different this life would be if they were only true! if they were not, as the best of them are—even those to whom it costs a pang to act so—ever ready to sell themselves for wealth and position."
Flora became scarlet. Mr. Earnscliffe noted that vivid flush, and considered it to be caused by consciousness of guilt, whilst in reality it was from a sense of injured innocence. A few minutes before she had been called upon to decide between wealth and possible dependence and humiliation—humiliation in the eyes of the world—and she had chosen the latter; but it was useless as a proof of the falseness of that sweeping accusation—in honour she was bound not to speak of it. She waited until the rush of excited feeling had subsided a little, and then said quietly—
"I know that you are wrong, Mr. Earnscliffe—we are not all ready to sell ourselves; there are many women who would refuse any man, no matter what advantages he could offer them, if they did not really love him."
His eyes flashed and he exclaimed, "You!" but he stopped suddenly, changed his tone, and added in his usual cold, polite manner, "Here is Mrs. Adair; but I see that she is speaking to some one, so I will not interrupt her; and now allow me to wish you Addio, e felice viaggio!"
He held her hand for a moment, whilst he looked at her again with one of those searching glances which had annoyed her before. Mrs. Adair turned round just as he left her, and said, "Why, Flora, how tired you look! Here is Marie as fresh and gay as ever!"