She was laughing a little, but shaking her head, as if to reprove him for trying to turn her away from her troubles.
"We mustn't be selfish," she said slowly. "Amos is big ... but he's not big enough, I fear, to resist the—the most powerful thing in life."
The alarm with which he searched her face for a moment changed quickly to annoyance.
"It isn't possible to misunderstand you, Miss Bulkeley, but——"
She laid one hand on his arm, turning to him her troubled eyes. He stood still for fear she would remove it.
"Haven't you seen—haven't you suspected?"
"Miss Bulkeley, I can answer for our hostess. If you can say the same for your brother——"
"I can, I can," she murmured brokenly. "But love, you know——"
"I know that, love or no love, there never was a finer little woman than Mary Aikens. Has your brother betrayed to you that he is less of a gentleman?"
"I could trust Amos anywhere," she replied simply.