It was reasonable enough from her point of view, but not from his. If Ramon were an American he would have said, “Go, ahead; take your medicine!” Being Mexican, discretion bade him remain.
“At least let me ride with you part of the way. I will turn before you reach El Sol.”
“Oh, that will be all right,” she had conceded at once.
He had felt certain, of course, that they would meet Ramon. But the usual witcheries, sweep of the tawny earth-waves under the bright sun, satisfying thud of hoofs on the trail, creak and smell of hot leather, had combined to blind him to all but her presence. Now, before he could turn, Ramon reined in before them.
Like Jake, they noticed at once the sardonic furrows, set mouth, frown above the glittering eyes. With his youth had vanished that veneer of refinement which conceals natural Mexican grossness. Like veins in a stratum revealed by a landslide, selfishness, conceit, violence, revenge, lay exposed. With the natural instinct of good breeding, Gordon had half turned to withdraw. But even if one glance at the passion-torn face had not checked the impulse, it would have been killed when Lee backed toward him. Shocked and a little afraid, she gazed at Ramon before she spoke.
“Are you ill? You look so—”
“So it was true, what the señora told me yesterday!” He spoke in low, strained tones. “It was true, though I did not believe; refused to believe. But now I see. It is true that you used me as bait for your fishing.”
“Ramon!” She raised her hand, but he switched suddenly from denunciation to appeal.
“No! it is not true! It cannot be! She lied! I will not believe it even though you tell me yourself!”
From this he ran on with an appeal, hysterical and disconnected, which reflected as in a clear glass the nature of his love. In it was no appreciation of the feminine personality with its delicacies of feeling, refinements, inconsistencies, helplessness, all the illogicalities that render it charming, as much or more than its faith and love. In terms of blind egotism, it expressed only his passion and jealousy, fatuous conceit. As in a clear glass, under a powerful light, he revealed himself so that even a woman blinded by love could not have failed to see. In the middle of it Gordon heard Lee take a long breath, and knew it for thankfulness. Yet her relief did not kill her poignant regret for the part she had played.