"Just as if I'd be fool enough to ask her!"
"That's the only way."
"Duke," said she coaxingly, "wouldn't it be worth something to you, personally, to have your troubles settled without a fight? I'll promise you nobody will ever lift a hand against you again if you'll do this for me."
He started, looked at her sternly, approaching her a step.
"What do you know about anything that's happened to me?" he demanded.
"I don't know anything about what's happened, but I know what's due to happen if it isn't headed off."
Lambert did some hard thinking for a little while, so hard that it wrenched him to the marrow. If he had had suspicion of her entire innocence in the solicitation of this unusual favor before, it had sprung in a moment into distrust. Such a quick reversion cannot take place in the sentiment without a shock. It seemed to Lambert that something valuable had been snatched away from him, and that he stood in bewilderment, unable to reach out and retrieve his loss.
"Then there's no use in discussing it any more," he said, groping back, trying to answer her.
"You'd do it for her!"
"Not for her any quicker than for you."