'How dare you tell me such a lie! You know very well you went to see her because you like her, because you love her.'
Dick looked at her, surprised.
'I assure you, you're mistaken,' he said. But at that moment Bret passed them in the street, hurrying towards Leslie's. The meeting was an unfortunate one, and it sent a deeper pang of jealousy to Kate's heart.
'There,' she said, 'haven't I proof of your baseness? What do you say to that?'
'To what?'
'Don't pretend innocence. Didn't you see Bret passing? You choose your time nicely to pay visits—just when he should be out.'
'Oh!' said Dick, surprised at the ingenuity of the deduction. 'I give you my word that such an idea never occurred to me.'
But before he could get any further with his explanation Kate again cut him short, and in passionate words told him he was a monster and a villain. So taken aback was he by this sudden manifestation of temper on the part of one in whom he did not suspect its existence, that he stopped, to assure himself that she was not joking. A glance sufficed to convince him; and making frequent little halts between the lamp-posts to argue the different points more definitely, they proceeded home quarrelling. But on arriving at the door, Kate experienced a moment of revolt that surprised herself. The palms of her hands itched, and consumed with a childish desire to scratch and beat this big man, she beat her little feet against the pavement. Dick fumbled at the lock. The delay still further irritated her, and it seemed impossible that she could enter the house that night.
'Aren't you coming in?' he said at last.
'No, not I. You go back to Miss Leslie; I'm sure she wants you to attend to her ankle.'