"Do, I wish to know; I feel like one in a dream—how shall I wake?"
"Your dream will be unlike many—a realized one. You are happy—one you love is near you."
"How do you mean?" she cried starting; and almost, in her alarm, withdrawing her arm from his.
"Oh! you mistake me, Lady Dora; I am not so presumptuous—I allude to Lord Randolph."
"To him!" she exclaimed hastily and unthinkingly; "he will never make a pulse of mine beat quicker or slower."
"Indifference is worse than hate. I would rather hold the sentiment I inspire you with, than his."
"You speak in enigmas, Mr. Tremenhere."
"I would rather be hated than looked upon with indifference. We seek to crush a snake, but we step over a worm!"
"A man may be neither."
"What, then? A caged bird, to serve a woman's caprice; or a chained monkey, to amuse her?"