"I hope the baroness will soon get over the cruel ones that singularly brutal young man has inflicted. You agree with me that he is a singularly brutal young man?"
"Absolutely."
"And I hope that when she is well again you will make her as happy as she is capable of being."
"If I knew how!"
"Why, by letting her go away, and giving her enough to live on decently by herself. It would be quite the best course to take, both for you and for her."
Anna looked down. "I have been thinking the same thing," she said in a low voice; she felt as though she were hauling down her flag.
"Perhaps you will let me help."
"Help?"
"Let me contribute. Why may I not be charitable too? If we join together it will be to her advantage. She need not know. And you are not a millionaire."
"Nor are you," said Anna, smiling up at him.