"Then it isn't true! Good God, Rachel, why did you consent?"
She realized her danger, the possibility that his mind had leaped to a conclusion, the right one.
"Because," she said slowly, dragging out the words, "the situation was compromising—"
"I don't believe it! I did at first; I was mad, furious, but now—I know it isn't true. I believe that Eva—"
"You mustn't believe anything wrong of Eva!" she cried.
"What am I to believe then? This is maddening. But I'll get the truth yet. I can't make you women speak out, but, at least, Belhaven—"
"That's it, you've made it so—you've threatened to kill him!"
"You mean he's been a cur?"
She was silent.
Astry halted in his pacing to regard her sternly; he felt that she was defeating him, whether because she would not help him, or through some inadvertence, he did not know, but what he saw was her figure against the afternoon sunshine, the subtle grace of the long lines, the delicately poised head and slender throat, and her beauty, which had always appealed keenly to his senses, drove him on to exasperation.