“I mean, have you the right to question my power, as you call it? Have I attempted to exert it over you?”
“You are talking nonsense, Phil,” she said, spiritedly.
“I said I'd feel sorry for the girl if she didn't happen to love me, you know. Well, I couldn't force her to love me if she didn't love me, could I?”
“Certainly not. That is what I meant,” she cried, immensely relieved.
“But my point is that she might love me without knowing it and would simply have to be brought to the realization.”
“Oh,” she said, “that is different.”
“You take back what you said, then?” he asked, maliciously.
“If she loved you and did not know it, she'd be a fool and you could exert any kind of power over her. You see, we didn't quite understand each other, did we?”
“That is for you to say,” he said, smiling significantly. “I think I understand perfectly.”
By this time they were opposite the Rue Lesbroussart, and he drove toward the Place Ste. Croix. As they made the turn she gave a start and peered excitedly up the Avenue Louise, first in front of her companion, then behind.