"Damn him!" The words burst from Jake with terrific violence. He sprang to his feet as a man goaded beyond all bearing. "Curse him!" he said, his face gone white with passion. "May his soul rot in----"
"Jake!" The name was a cry, breaking through the fierce rush of his fury. Maud was on her feet also. She held him by the shoulders, in a vital, quivering hold. "You are not to say it!" she said and her face was close to his, compelling him to silence. "You are not to curse him! A curse comes back--comes back!"
She put one hand on his mouth, for he seemed on the verge of breaking forth afresh. She looked him full in the eyes.
"You're not to, Jake!" she said. "I won't have it. You who have been--so splendidly generous--can afford to leave a beaten enemy alone. Ah,--Jake!"
For his arms were round her, gripping her. The naked soul of the man was looking into hers. With a supreme impulse, she took her hand away and gave her lips to his, surrendered herself wholly to the fiery passion that had suddenly blazed forth upon her.
But in a moment his arms were loosened. He went back against the mantelpiece as though he had been struck a blow between the eyes. He stood motionless, his mouth working but uttering no word.
She stood before him, pale to the lips but not without a certain strength. She had offered, and he had not taken. But yet her doubts were set at rest. Perhaps for the first time in her life she faced him wholly unafraid.
"So--we will leave him out of it," she said, breathing fast. "He has--ceased to count."
Jake moved, pulled himself together. "You must forgive me," he said. "Maybe you'd be wise to leave me I shall be--saner--presently."
She put one hand against his breast. "No, Jake, no. You're going to be sane now. Sit down again! Let us finish our talk!"