The undernote of sarcasm in his half-bantering tone brought the blood to her cheeks. But her manner froze in proportion to her inward heat.
"Am I given to making promiscuous declarations of that sort?"
"Not that I am aware of. But you have rather original ideas on the platonic question; and one can never quite tell where you draw the line."
"I draw it at telling a man I am fond of him," she answered, with a slight lift of her head. "Even a man so little likely to misunderstand one as your Dick."
"Is that what you call him now?"
"I won't answer such a question. You may think what you please."
Then, in defiance of dignity and pride, her lip quivered, and she came closer to him.
"Eldred, what makes you say such detestable things? I thought you wanted me to be good to him. Are you—angry with me about it now?"
The touch of hesitancy, so rare in her, disarmed the man, reawakened his better self; and slipping an arm round her, he crushed her against him with a force that took away her breath.
"I'm a selfish brute, Quita. That's all about it," he said bluntly.
"And Dick's the best chap in the world."