'No, perhaps not—for a woman,' said Selpdorf reflectively, 'but since there is no other——' he waited, then putting his forefinger under his chin, he raised her face and looked into it. 'Unless indeed you prefer someone——'
Her eyes, which met his with the clear direct glance they had not inherited from himself, and her pale gravity dismayed him.
'Speak, my dear child. This is a matter very near my heart,' he said quietly.
A tremulous smile came to Valerie's lips.
'And near mine—or I should not oppose you, father.'
Selpdorf pushed her away from him with a gentle hand.
'You don't know what you are doing,' he said shortly, and gazed out with undisguised chagrin into the mists that overhung Révonde. Presently he stood up.
'Well, well; it only goes to prove that the human element is a variable quantity,' he remarked.
'Am I only a human element in your plans? Am I no more than that to you?' She put her hands upon his shoulder.
M. Selpdorf drew her nearer and kissed her forehead.