"Oh, more than that!" cries she in a low but passionate tone. "Far more!"
She lays her hand upon her throat, and looks up to heaven. The moonlight, striking upon her as she so stands, makes her fairness even greater.
"Marian! You mean——"
The past rushes in upon him. He has turned to her.
"No! no! It is nothing," says she, with a little laugh that is full of pain. She makes a movement that almost repulses him. "But I am your friend, if nothing else; and the world—the world is beginning to talk about you, Maurice!"
"About me!"
He has drawn back with a sharp pang. She sees that this new idea that touches him, or that little fool (as she has designated Tita in her mind), has destroyed his interest in her for the moment.
"Yes! Be warned in time."
"Who is daring to talk about me?"
"Not about you directly; but about Lady Rylton."