“You have strengthened my fancy, Elizabeth. There is a deal of happiness in the idea of prevailing, of getting the mastery, of putting hindrances out of the way.”
“Well, I have given you good advice.”
“There are many ‘counsels of perfection’ nobody dreams of following. To 34 advise a man in love not to love, is one of them.”
“Love!” she cried scornfully. “Before you make such a fuss about the Spanish Colonies and their new-found freedom, free yourself, Ulfar! You have been a slave to some woman all your life. You are one of those men who are naturally not their own property. A child can turn you hither and thither; a simple country girl can lead you.”
He laughed softly, and murmured,—
“There is a rose of a hundred leaves,
But the wild rose is the sweetest.”