He paused, and the other caught her breath.
“Understand me,” she said, her voice trembling. “I would not ask any pledges of you. I would pay whatever price there was to pay—I am not afraid to suffer.”
“I do not wish you to suffer,” he said. “I do not wish to take advantage of any woman.”
“But I have nothing in the world that I value!” she cried. “I would go away—I would give up everything, to be with a man like you. I have no ties—no duties—”
He interrupted her. “You have your husband—” he said.
And she cried out in sudden fury—“My husband!”
“Has no one ever told you about my husband?” she asked, after a pause.
“No one,” he said.
“Well, ask them!” she exclaimed. “Meantime, take my word for it—I owe nothing to my husband.”
Montague sat staring into the fire. “But consider my own case,” he said. “I have duties—my mother and my cousin—”