“If I told you that I had been very, very wicked in those mysterious years, would it seem important to you?”

“Of course! Horribly! It couldn’t help it, if a man cared much for a woman.”

“And if a woman cared a lot for a man, ought it to make a difference what he had done before he met her?”

“Well, of course––but that’s different.”

“Why?”

“Oh, because it is.”

“Men say ‘Because!’ too, I see.”

“It’s just shorthand with us. It means you know it so well there’s no need of explaining.”

174

“Oh! Well, if you––I say, if you were very much in love with me––”