“We trusted Lord Eckhart. We have found all English honorable.”
“Lord Eckhart is partly German,” the girl went on.
The man's voice in reply was like a foot-note to a discourse.
“Ah!” He drawled the expletive as though it were some Oriental word.
The girl continued. “You have perhaps heard that a marriage is arranged between us.”
Her voice was steady, low, without emotion.
For a long time there was utter silence in the room.
Then, finally, when the Oriental spoke his voice had changed. It was gentle, and packed with sympathy. It was like a voice within the gate of a confessional.
“Do you love him?” it said.
“I do not know.”