“I will do them all, Carmen, if you will come to me!”
“But––oh, you were only deceiving me all the time! And now––if I refuse––then what?”
“It depends upon you, entirely––and you will come? Not now––but within the next few months––within the year––tell me that you will!”
“But––you will do these things whether I come to you or not?” she persisted.
“I’ve put it all into your hands,” he answered shortly. “I’ve named the condition.”
A strange look crossed the girl’s face. She stood as if stunned. Then she glanced about in helpless bewilderment.
“I––I––love––you,” she murmured, as she looked off toward the window, but with unseeing eyes. “I would do anything for you that was right. I––love––everybody––everybody; but there are no conditions to my love. Oh!” she suddenly cried, burying her face in her hands and bursting into tears. “You have tried to buy me!”
Ames rose and came to her. Taking her by the hand he led her, unresisting, back to her chair.
“Listen,” he said, bending toward her. “Go home now and think it all over. Then let me know your answer. It was sudden, I admit; I took you by surprise. But––well, you are not going to prevent the accomplishment of all that good, are you? Think! It all depends upon your word!”