“I never asked Miss Gerard.”
“Did you flirt with her?”
“I suppose you give it that name. I was attracted towards her, of course, but I soon found that she had no depth; she would cling to me, I could not shake her off. I took her to Mayfield this morning; she asked to go, I could not refuse the girl. She has made several pretty things for me; I showed my appreciation by buying pieces of jewelry for her; was that flirting? I never kissed her, or said I loved her, or talked any nonsense to her.”
“Of course not. You do not know how.”
“I know how to talk sense, Miss Tessa.”
“Are you asking me because your mother loves me so much?”
“Is it so hard for you to believe that I love you?”
“Yes,” she said, her eyes filling at his tone, “I can not believe it. It is as if you had put both hands around my throat and choked my breath away and then said politely, ‘Excuse me.’”
“Is my love so little to you as that?”
“I have not seen it yet; you say you love me, that is all.”