She had scarcely expected him to acknowledge it. She glanced quickly at his blond, boyish face and saw that it was absolutely serene.
"How dared you?" she gasped.
"I dared do no less," he answered. "I could no longer bear being, for a reason unexplained, in the book of your displeasure. I had to know."
"Well, you shan't know."
"You judge me, dear lady, without giving the accused an opportunity to plead in his own defence?"
"You are not accused—and you aren't judged."
"I wish," said von Klausen, slowly, "that I could believe you; but how is that possible?"
"Do you mean to say that I am not telling you the truth?"
"I mean, dear Mrs. Stainton, that I have no choice. You leave me none. Your words say one thing, but your tone, your manner, say another. To accept your truth in one of your expressions is to deny your truth in another of them."
Muriel bit her red under-lip.