"Not you, at all events!" she retorted.
He laughed mirthlessly—a hollow, mocking laugh that seemed to wrench his very soul.
"No, not me," he answered—"even your effrontery would hesitate at the same victim twice."
She shrugged her shoulders and made no reply.
He waited, while the horse drew over and began to crop the grass at her feet. At length, he spoke again.
"What do you intend to do, Mrs. Lorraine—have you come back with the purpose of driving some bargain with me—a bargain that will leave you a trifling semblance of your good name?"
A slight smile curled her lovely lips but she made no answer.
"Because, if you have," he went on, "I warn you that it will be unavailing."
The idea of his warning her of anything now, after the way he had stood back and let her drift upon the rocks, was so intensely absurd that she laughed.