"No--frankly, I do not," he replied.
"Tell me why," said Philippa.
"Can you ask me to do so, Philippa?" he returned, surprised; and then he added, "I will tell you. First of all, despite the taking music, it is a performance to which I should not care to bring my wife and sister."
"Tell me why?" she said, again.
"It lowers my idea of womanhood. I could not forgive the woman, let her be duchess or peasant, who could show any man such great love, who could lay herself out so deliberately to win a man."
She looked at him gravely. He continued:
"Beauty is very charming, I grant--as are grace and talent; but the chief charm to me of a woman is her modesty. Do you not agree with me, Philippa?"
"Yes," she replied, "most certainly I do; but, Norman, you are hard upon us. Suppose that, woman loves a man ever so truly--she must not make any sign?"
"Any sign she might make would most certainly, in my opinion, lessen her greatest charm," he said.
"But," she persisted, "do you not think that is rather hard? Why must a woman never evince a preference for the man she loves?"