"Yes, you have," was the brief reply.
"You will not touch my hand?" said Leone.
"No, I decline to touch your hand," said Lady Marion; "I decline to speak to you after this."
"Will you tell me why?" asked Leone.
Lady Marion's face flushed crimson.
"Since you ask me, I will tell you. You have been seeking my husband, and I do not approve of it. You spent a day with him on the river—he never told me about it. I am not a jealous wife, but I despise any woman who would seek to take the love of a husband from his wife."
Conscience, which makes cowards of us all, kept Leone silent.
Lady Chandos continued:
"What is there between my husband and you?"
"True friendship," answered Leone, trying to speak bravely.