"If she is not acting then—then she is on the brink of a great misery," he thought. "If I could only believe her!"
"You mean that it would make no difference to you whether a man were a duke or not?" he said.
Her face went rather pale.
"Yes, it would make a difference," she said in a low voice. "I would rather not make the acquaintance of a duke, or any one so far above me in rank; and there are thousands of women who feel the same."
"Oh," he says, curtly. "I never was fortunate enough to meet any. Seeing that that is your feeling, it was very kind of you to honor me—I mean my cousin," he corrected himself sharply, "with your friendship, Miss Leslie," and he smiled.
Leslie's cheek burned, and she turned her face from his keen eyes.
"An actress," he muttered. "And yet I'll give her a word of warning, though she doesn't deserve it."
"Did the duke happen to say when he was coming back, Miss Leslie?"
"No," she said. "He said that he might be two or three days."
He laughed.