The Earl was silent; Miss Chressham looked at him a little space, then moved towards the window.
"But as you say," she said in another and heavier tone, "everyone does it, and perhaps you do not care."
As she finished her glance fell on the letter lying on the little desk between them, and she saw the name on it.
"Ah!" she added swiftly. "Do you care?"
He answered the eager look in her hazel eyes.
"Enough not to wish to speak of it," he said quietly. "Enough to ask you to forget that I have said even that——"
"This for Marius!" she cried, hardly knowing what she did or what words she spoke.
"Nay, for myself," he answered recklessly, "that I may not hear their reproaches all my days—it had to be—by Gad, we cannot hope to end our lives in fairy tales."
He picked up the letter and put it in his pocket.
"Tell my lady to rest tranquil and Marius that he shall not starve—and for yourself—thank you, my sweet cousin."