“Why?” Rochester asked quietly.
“Because,” the Duchess answered, “all the faith that has been lavished upon religion since the making of the world, has been a misapplied force. If it had been applied toward developing this new part of ourselves, there is no doubt that so many thousands of years could never have passed without our entering the last and greatest chamber in the treasure-house of knowledge.”
The bishop, being a privileged guest, and a cousin of his hostess, deliberately turned his back upon her and escaped from the conversation. The Duchess looked past him towards Saton, who was sitting a few places down the table.
“There!” she exclaimed. “I have been braver than even you could have been.”
Saton smiled.
“That sort of courage,” he remarked, “is the prerogative of your sex.”
“You have heard what I said,” she continued. “Don’t you agree with me?”
“Of course,” he answered.
He hesitated for a moment, but the Duchess was looking at him. She evidently expected him to continue the subject.