“Delighted I am sure, but an engagement prevents.”
“Can’t you break it?”
“Not with this man, much as I would like to for the sake of going with you. But I’ve been badgering him ever since he came to Congress for a few sittings, and he has at last promised to begin this day—in fact, this very hour.”
“Who is my important rival?”
“Professor Desha.”
Viola instantly made a rosy moue of disdain, and exclaimed:
“I hate that man! He is too goody-goody!”
“He is a very noble and upright man, and I am particularly anxious to paint his portrait. His fine head and face remind me somewhat of the old masters’ pictures of Christ!” exclaimed Florian Gay, warmly.
“You are partial to him because he was your professor at college,” she retorted.
“Perhaps so, but it is because that gave me an opportunity to know his value better. Philip Desha is a noble fellow, with grand principles and high ideals, and I am sorry that he yielded to ambition and let his people elect him to Congress. Politics will prove a severe test to his upright character,” he answered with more seriousness than he usually displayed.