“No.”
“Why don’t you tell her like a man?”
“Things are not as simple as all that.”
“Obstacles, eh?”
“Rather!”
A close observer might have perceived under Clare’s scornful chaffing the suggestion of a serious and anxious purpose. “Bless me! this is getting exciting!” she said. “Maybe the lady has a husband?”
“No, not that.”
A glint of relief showed under her lowered lids. “What’s the trouble, then?”
“Oh, just my general unworthiness, I guess.”
“I don’t think you can love her very much,” she said, with pretended scorn.