"If you don't marry him, Mara, you will lose the property."
"I don't care," she answered indifferently. "I can always live somewhere."
"If you would marry me," said Theodore eagerly, "you could go away and live where you liked. I only want to inherit Beckleigh."
"Oh!" cried Patricia, revolted by this selfish sentiment.
Theodore wheeled to face her. "It is a brutal thing for a man to say to a woman, is it not?" he asked derisively; "and if Mara loved me, I would not say what I have said. But she hates me, as you can see."
"I don't hate you!" put in Mara. "I am merely indifferent to you! Besides, as you said just now, you only want the property."
"Yes, I do," declared Dane boldly; "and I only put into words what other people think. I wish to have this house all to myself."
"Why this house particularly?" asked Patricia, after a pause.
"Because it is so secluded, and so safe for my purpose."
"What is your purpose?"