"I saw nothing of the kind. It never entered my head."
"Claudia, is it possible? Did you never think of it?"
"As nothing more than a possibility—and a very unhappy possibility."
"Why unhappy?" he asked, and his voice was very tender.
"To begin with: you could never love any one."
"I have swept all that on one side. That is over."
"How can it be over? You had sworn."
"Yes; but it is over."
"Dare you break your vow?"
"If I dare, who else dare question me? Have I not counted the cost?"