“We'll go to London. I'll show you the world.
“And I will take care of you, I promise, Megan. I'll never be a brute to you!”
“If I can be with you—that is all.”
He stroked her hair, and whispered on:
“To-morrow I'll go to Torquay and get some money, and get you some clothes that won't be noticed, and then we'll steal away. And when we get to London, soon perhaps, if you love me well enough, we'll be married.”
He could feel her hair shiver with the shake of her head.
“Oh, no! I could not. I only want to be with you!”
Drunk on his own chivalry, Ashurst went on murmuring, “It's I who am not good enough for you. Oh! Megan, when did you begin to love me?”
“When I saw you in the road, and you looked at me. The first night I loved you; but I never thought you would want me.”
She slipped down suddenly to her knees, trying to kiss his feet.