“Let us have a clear understanding, Mr. Allison.” She was quite erect, and looking him directly in the eyes. Her own were deep and troubled, and the dark trace which had been about them in the morning had deepened. “I told you last night that I should need time in which to decide; and I have decided. I shall not marry you.”
He returned her gaze for a moment, and his brow clouded.
“You’ve changed since last night,” he charged her.
“Possibly,” she admitted. “It is more likely, however, that I have merely crystallised. I prefer not to discuss it.” She saw on his face the growing instinct to humiliate her.
“You must discuss it,” he insisted. “Last night when I took you in my arms you made no objection. I was justified in doing it again to-night. You’re not a fool. You knew from the first that I wanted you, and you encouraged me. Now, I’m entitled to know what has made the change.”
The telltale red spots began to appear in her cheeks.
“You,” she told him. “Last night, your scheme of world empire seemed a wonderful thing to me, but since then I’ve discovered that it cannot be built without dishonesty and cruelty; and you’ve used both.”
His brow cleared. He laughed heartily.
“You’ve been reading the papers. There isn’t a man in the financial field who wouldn’t do everything I’ve done; and be proud of it. I can make you see this in the right light, Gail.”
“It’s a proof of your moral callousness that you think so,” she informed him. “Can you make me see it in the right light that you even used me, of whom you pretended to think sacredly enough to marry, to help you in your most despicable trick of all?”