She smiled.
"You angry man, you asked me what I think of him and I have told you. I have turned the battery on you, Fletcher. I know your worth exactly. I am useful to you; you are useful to me—that is all."
"All!" he exclaimed.
"Well, what else? We are not in love, are we?"
"No, I suppose not. Has it ever occurred to you, Lenise, that I want you to be my wife?" he asked.
"No, it has not occurred to me, nor has it occurred to you before to-night," she said.
"Yes, it has."
"I doubt it. Besides, things are much better as they are. I would not be your wife if you asked me," she said.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because—oh, for the very sufficient reason that you could not keep me, and I have sufficient to live upon," she said.