"You will be beggars together."
"Not necessarily. We shall not be very rich, but that is another thing."
Lady Jane turned from him, and gazed at the fire. For several minutes there was silence between them. Then she spoke again without looking at him.
"You will go your own way, I suppose—only give me time to soften the blow it will be to Kitty."
He would have spoken, but she lifted her hand with an imperious gesture, and went on—
"Kitty loves you. Why she should I do not know, but, most unfortunately, it is true. I shall never speak of it again after this. Give me time, I beg you."
There was something imploring in her gesture.
"You can have plenty of time," he said. "But even yet I cannot believe she loves me. A woman's love is not given on such slight grounds. Why, I have never pressed her hand even."
"You know nothing about it. Would it have made any difference to you if you had believed she loved you?"
