"It doesn't matter. Come, Kate; don't stare at Hoddy as if he were a new species." The Major smoothed the ends of his mustache. "This confession will be good for his soul."
"Yes, Gioconda; I feel easier now. I am heart and soul in this affair. I need excitement, too. Lord, yes. When I went to Bagdad, I had no idea that I should ever lay eyes upon that rug. But I did. And there's the emeralds, too, Major."
The Major rubbed his hands pleasurably. "Yes, yes; the emeralds; I had not forgotten them. One hundred lovely green stones, worth not a penny under thirty thousand. A fine collection. But another idea has taken possession of this teeming brain of mine. Have you noticed how this fellow Jones hovers about Fortune? He's worth a million, if he's worth a cent. I am sure, in pure gratitude, she would see to it that her loved ones were well taken care of in their old age."
"I am going to marry Fortune myself," said Ryanne blandly.
"You?" The Major was nonplussed.
Wallace shuffled his feet uneasily. This blond companion of his was always showing kinks in his nature, kinks that rarely ever straightened out.
"Yes. And why not? What is she to either you or her mother? Nothing. Affection you have never given her, being unable. It surprises you; but, nevertheless, I love her, and I am going to marry her."
"Really?" said Mrs. Chedsoye.
"Even so."
"You are a fool, Horace!" with rising fury. So then, the child had not jibed her in a moment of pique?