“Say what you have to say here,” he said, quietly.
“And suppose I refuse? Suppose I use the power I’ve got over you and insist upon going in? I’ve got my rights.”
“No,” he said; “you forfeited them long ago. Why have you come here? What benefit can you gain by tracking me down?”
“Tracked you down! Yes, you’re right. That’s just what I have done!” she retorted, with a laugh of triumph. “And now I’ve found you, I don’t mean to leave you! You can’t force me to, either.”
“No,” he said, as quietly as before, with an accent of weariness, “you are quite right; I cannot force you to leave me, but I can leave you. You demand, by the right of the secret between us, to enter that cottage; do so if you will, but I shall never cross the threshold again. You know that.”
“You—you hard devil!” she panted, with impotent fury.
“Am I so hard? Think!” he said, sternly. “Do I treat you hardly or unjustly? I have yielded to all your demands—all of them. All I asked of you in return was that you should leave me in peace to live out the life you have degraded and ruined. Can you not do this? Are you not satisfied?”
She bit at her underlip till it showed a livid scar, and tore with one restless hand at the edge of her shawl.
“Suppose I’m not satisfied?” she said.
“Not satisfied!” he repeated. “Even you should be contented with your work, Bella!” and he smiled grimly. “Remember what I was when my evil fate threw me across your path, and think what I am now!”