"I could never be a stranger to you," he said, fervently.
"Oh, I think so, if I chose."
"And would you choose?"
"Certainly, if you would not accept the situation."
"I cannot," cried Jerce, his emotions getting the better of his judgment. "I am a man, and I feel like a man. For years I have loved you, and for a long time I have wished to make you my wife. I spoke to Horran, and he was agreeable that I should marry you."
"Indeed," cried Clarice, with a flush of anger. "Then permit me to remind you, doctor, that Mr. Horran, much as I loved him, had not the right to dispose of my hand. That goes with my heart."
"Which is possessed by Captain Ackworth," said Jerce, bitterly.
"Exactly. You leave nothing to be desired in the way of explanation."
"But Ackworth is not worthy of you," urged the doctor.
"Really, and in what way?"