Aura Stanley watched the lovers with a jealous pang, for it was a cruel blow to lose Earle, whom she had hoped to captivate, not only because she loved him, but because he was the son of a great man and had a fortune in his own right. She was ambitious and longed to reign a social queen.
By some clever maneuvering she managed to get a tête-à-tête by the river bank with Earle that day, and then she said coldly:
"Ah, really, I must return your ring, Mr. Winans."
She held the glittering circlet toward him on the end of her taper finger, and somehow, just as he was about to accept the ring, it slipped off Aura's finger, flashed like an evil eye in the sunlight, then rolled into the river.
"Oh, I am so sorry—but it was an accident," cried Aura quickly.
The young man's eyes flashed with anger, and he cried with stinging contempt:
"Oh, no, you did it on purpose, because you thought I meant to give it to Miss Conway. But it does not matter; I will buy her a prettier one to-morrow."
Aura sprang to her feet, her eyes blazing, her cheeks crimson, and exclaimed in a loud, angry voice:
"You villain! How dare you insult me like that?"