There was a silence; then suddenly Desiree's voice came:
"Paul—" She hesitated and stopped.
"Yes."
"What do you think of me?"
"Do you want a lengthy review?" I smiled.
What a woman she was! Under those circumstances, and amid those surroundings, she was still Desiree Le Mire.
"Don't laugh at me," she said. "I want to know. I have never spoken of what I did that time in the cavern—you know what I mean. I am sorry now. I suppose you despise me."
"But you did nothing," I objected. "And you wouldn't. You were merely amusing yourself."
She turned on me quickly with a flash of her old fire.
"Don't play with me!" she burst out. "My friend, you have never yet given me a serious word."