"Then why not here?"
Her hands were clasping and unclasping as they walked.
"This is so different. I know what love can do—how it can change things." She was stumbling over it, flushing as she spoke, but continuing brave!
"I hope you do," he breathed.
But the tears brimming in her eyes made him feel the brute for intruding his petty affairs just then.
"Would your brother stay if he knew he was exposing himself to a temptation he could not resist?" he demanded.
She considered the reply for a long time before she made it.
"We can't leave, Mr. Stamford. We have our work to do—it's not mere personal pleasure or satisfaction that forces Amos to continue until he's completed his investigations. It's his duty to stay to the end—he can't help himself."
He frowned. "Please don't make me believe you think digging up old bones a duty that ignores—what you fear. I hope you're not that kind of a girl—I won't believe it."
She turned her face squarely to his, and for several seconds they stood looking into each other's eyes. Her head was thrown back a little proudly and reprovingly, and every barrier of reserve was down. Once more the utter confidence in his manliness forced him to control himself.