Her face lighted up.
“Ah,” she sighed, “I wonder if you understood—I wonder if you knew how sincere I was! Oh, I could not write you everything, and I longed to so much, but I knew you would not understand. As it was, I had to find a moment when my husband did not see me, for he——”
“Your husband?” grasped Merry, thunderstruck.
“Yes; he is so suspicious—so jealous and cruel!”
“Great heavens! madam, are you married?”
“I am. I was married when I was sixteen—to a man I hate! Oh, you cannot know the horror of being bound to a person you hate! It is dreadful!”
Now, Merry was beginning to grow indignant.
“And you, a married woman, are seeking a flirtation with a stranger—an actor? Madam, your folly is astonishing!”
“Don’t—don’t speak to me like that!” she pleaded, tears seeming to spring to her eyes. “I am not seeking a flirtation! I am seeking to know my ideal. You—you are my ideal!”
“It is the height of folly and rashness!” exclaimed Frank, severely. “Madam, if you have no thought for yourself, you should have some regard for me! Think of the position in which you are placing me!”