For a few seconds the paralyzed girl before her could not utter a word; then she stammered out:
"He told me you had deceived him about money."
Sabine gave an inarticulate cry of rage, like a wild beast at bay. "It's a lie! A lie! I never deceived him. It's he who deceived me; but let me tell you this: when a woman like me promises to marry a man, she keeps her word. Do you understand? She keeps her word! I am going to marry Thomas Ned. He cannot escape me. I will go to the priest. I will go to the lawyer. There are plenty of ways."
The blonde girl sank trembling into a chair.
"He cannot marry you," she gasped. "He cannot. He cannot."
"No?" cried Sabine, with ringing mockery. "And why not?"
Tina's lips moved inaudibly. She moistened them with her tongue and made a second attempt.
"Because—" she breathed.
"Yes? Yes?"
"Because—he must marry me." She buried her head in her hands and sobbed.