“Exceedingly. I prefer your undivided attention; it is not often we are alone, Ruth.”
She looked up slightly startled; he seldom made personal remarks. Her pulses began to flutter with the premonition that reference to a tacitly buried secret was going to be made.
“We have been going out and receiving a good deal lately, though somehow I don’t feel festive, with Father away in freezing New York. Mamma would gladly have stayed at home to-night if Jennie had not insisted.”
“You think so? I fancy she was a very willing captive; she intimated as much to me.”
“How?”
“Not in words, but her eyes were interesting reading: first, capitulation to Jennie, then, in rapid succession, inspiration, command, entreaty, a challenge and retreat, all directed at me. Possibly this eloquence was lost upon you.”
“Entirely. What was your interpretation?”
“Ah, that was confidential. Perhaps I even endowed her with these thoughts, knowing her desires were in touch with my own.”
“It is wanton cruelty to arouse a woman’s curiosity and leave it unsatisfied.”
“It is not cruelty; it is cowardice.”