He nodded.
“Telephone me at home,” he said. “Tell Dorrington, or Huntley—whichever you see—that the affair must be closed up—either dropped or settled. The risk is too great. My other work is becoming more and more important every day. I ought not to be mixed up with this sort of thing at all, Violet.”
“Why are you?” she asked.
“Money,” he answered. “One must have money. One can do nothing without money. It isn’t that you or any of the other places make such an amazing lot. It’s from Dorrington, of course, that the biggest draws come. Still, on the whole it’s a good income.”
“And you’re going to give it all up?” she remarked.
He nodded.
“I daren’t go on,” he said. “We’ve reached about the limit.”
“How are you going to live, then?” she asked curiously. “You’re not the sort of man to go back to poverty.”
Saton considered for a moment. After all, perhaps it would pay him best to be straightforward with this girl. He would tell her the truth. If she were disagreeable about it, he could always swear that he had been joking.
“Violet,” he said, “I will tell you what I am going to do. It does not sound very praiseworthy, but you must remember that my work, my real hard work, means a great deal to me, and for its sake I am willing to put up with a good deal of misunderstanding. I am going to ask you to break off our engagement. I am going to marry a young lady who has a great deal of money.”