"You will give me my answer then?" he said.
"Yes."
He smiled—a cruel smile. "After due consultation with Nick, I suppose? No, my dear. I think not. We'll keep this thing a secret for the present—and I'll have my answer now."
"I can't answer you now!" She flung the words wildly, and rose up between his hands with desperate strength. "I can't—I can't!" she cried. "You must give me—a little time. I shan't consult—Nick or anyone. I only want—to think—by myself."
"Really?" said Hunt-Goring.
"Yes, really." She set her hands against his breast, holding him from her, yet beseeching him. "Oh, you can't refuse me this!" she urged. "It's—too small a thing. I've got to find out if—if—if I can possibly do it."
"You won't run away?" he said.
"No—no! I've nowhere to go."
"And you mention the matter to no one—on your oath—till we meet again?" His eyes were cruel still, but they were not cold. They shone upon her with a fierce heat.
She could not avoid them, though they seemed to burn her through and through. "I promise," she said through white lips.