"Surely keener than you would be," she said.
"But really? I want my wife, and I see no reason for letting her go. If she likes to bear a child under my roof, she is welcome, and the child is welcome: provided that the decency and order of life is preserved. Do you mean to tell me that Duncan Forbes has a greater hold over you? I don't believe it."
There was a pause.
"But don't you see," said Connie. "I must go away from you, and I must live with the man I love."
"No, I don't see it! I don't give tuppence for your love, nor for the man you love. I don't believe in that sort of cant."
"But you see, I do."
"Do you? My dear Madam, you are too intelligent, I assure you, to believe in your own love for Duncan Forbes. Believe me, even now you really care more for me. So why should I give in to such nonsense!"
She felt he was right there. And she felt she could keep silent no longer.
"Because it isn't Duncan that I do love," she said, looking up at him. "We only said it was Duncan, to spare your feelings."
"To spare my feelings?"