She said coolly: "You hate him. You and Mr. Caldera almost ruined him in that acreage affair."
"You are mistaken. Caldera squeezed him; I did not. I knew nothing about it. My agents attend to such petty matters. What motive have I for disliking Quarren?"
She shrugged her shoulders disdainfully: "Perhaps because you thought he was devoted to me—and I to him.... And you were right," she added: "I am devoted to him because he is a man and a clean one."
"Have you ended?"
"Ended what?"
"Punishing me."
Her lips curled slightly: "I am afraid you are inclined to self-flattery, Langly. We chasten those whom we care for."
"Are you silly enough to dismiss me through sheer pique?" he said between his teeth.
"Pique? I don't understand. I've merely concluded that I don't need your fortune and I don't want your name. You, personally, never figured in the proposed arrangement."
His visage altered alarmingly: