I am bound to Almeric in his misfortune, I am bound to him by his misfortune.
[She goes on with a sorrowful eagerness.]
He has to bear a name that will be a by-word of disgrace, and it is my duty to help him bear it, to help him make it honorable again; to inspire him in the struggle that lies before him to rise above it by his own efforts, to make a career for himself; to make the world forget the disgrace of his father in his own triumphs—in the product of his own work—
PIKE
[aghast]
Work!
ETHEL
Oh, I am all American to-day. No matter how humbly he begins, it will be a beginning, and no matter what it costs me I must be by his side helping him, with all my energy and strength. Can you challenge that? Isn't it true?
PIKE
I can't deny it—that's what any good and brave woman ought to feel.