“And then,” resumed he, “the absurdity is, if I say one word, the reply is, 'Oh, you are so jealous!'”
“Naturally enough!” was the cool remark.
“Naturally enough! And why naturally enough? Is it of such fellows as Layton or O'Shea I should think of being jealous?”
“I think you might,” said she, gravely. “They are, each of them, very eager to succeed in that about which you show yourself sufficiently indifferent; and although May is certainly bound by the terms of her father's will, there are conditions by which she can purchase her freedom.”
“Purchase her freedom! And is that the way she regards her position?” cried he, trembling with agitation.
“Can you doubt it? Need you do more than ask yourself, How do you look on your own case? And yet you are not going to bestow a great fortune. I 'm certain that, do what you will, your heart tells you it is a slave's bargain.”
“Did May tell you so?” said he, in a voice thick with passion.
“No.”
“Did she ever hint as much?”
“No.”