"I would rather you answered first."
"I decline to answer first. The offer is made to you, not me. You are the head of the house, the breadwinner. It is for you to decide."
"I can't decide without reference to you."
"You needn't. When you tell me what you want I will tell you what I want."
He was silent for a little. Then suddenly he got to his feet, walked up and down the room a few times, and came back to stand before her.
"My little wife," he said, "if I thought you would be happier—"
"I shouldn't."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. If you wanted very much to come it would influence me, of course. But doubting that—"
"Why do you doubt it? Shouldn't I be lacking in ambition if I failed to take advantage of such a chance? It is a chance, Ellen,—the chance of a lifetime. Jack means precisely what he says, and he could give me such a backing as would insure me a tremendous start."