He leaned down to her. "I say you will. This is—a midsummer madness.
This will pass."
She started slightly at his words. The sparkling liquid splashed over. She lifted the glass to her lips, and drank. When she ceased, he took it softly from her, and put it to his own. Then he set down the empty glass and slipped his arm behind her.
"Juliette, I am going to save you," he said, "from yourself."
She drew away from him. "Charles, I forbid that!"
She was breathing quickly but her voice was quiet. There was indomitable resolution in her eyes.
He paused, looking at her closely. "You deny—to me—what you were permitting with so much freedom barely half-an-hour ago to the village schoolmaster?" he said.
Her face flamed. "I have always denied you—that!" she said.
He smiled. "Times alter, Juliette. You are no longer in a position to deny me."
She kept her eyes upon him. "You mean I have trusted you too far?" she said, a deep throb in her voice. "I might have known!"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Life is a game of hazard, is it not? And you were always a daring player. But, Juliette, you cannot always win. This time the luck is against you."