“Do, dearest,—hate him to your heart's content,—and for nothing more than the happiness of which he robs me.”
“Well, I 'm sure, I did think—” And she stopped, and seemed confused.
“And what, pray, was it that you did think?” said his Lordship, most winningly.
“I thought two things, then, if you must know,” said she, archly: “first, that a great personage like your Lordship would make a very small one like this Mr. Dunn understand it was his duty to await your convenience; and my second thought was—But perhaps you don't care to hear it?”
“Of all things. Pray go on.”
“Well, then, my second was that if I asked you to come, you'd not refuse me.”
“What an inexorable charmer it is!” cried he, in stage fashion. “Do you fancy you could ever forgive yourself if, yielding to this temptation, I were really to miss this man?”
“You told me yourself, only yesterday,” said she, “ce que femme veut—Besides, you'll have him all day tomorrow, and the next, and—”
“Well, so be it. See how I hug my chains!” said he, drawing her arm within his, and moving on towards the boat.
“Were you to be of that party, Baron?” asked Dunn, pointing to the crowd beside the lake.