'You have something more to say. Won't you say it at once?'
'If I can get over this difficulty it will be all right—my anxieties over. I thought, Zoe, when I sent you here, that, with a girl rich, mistress of her own, of age, it would be easy for you to wind yourself into her confidence and borrow—or beg, or somehow get what I want out of her. To borrow would be best.'
'How much do you want? Tell me exactly.'
'I want, before the end of next month, about 3,000l. Say, 3,500l.'
'That is a very large sum of money.'
'Not to this girl. Make her lend it to you. Make up some story. Beg it or borrow it—and——' he laid his hand upon her shoulder, but she made no movement in reply; he stooped and kissed her head, but she did not look up. 'Zoe—I swear—if you will do this for me, our long and weary waiting shall be at an end. I will acknowledge everything. I will give up this extravagant life: we will settle down like a couple of honest bourgeois: we will live over the shop if you like—that is, the publishing office of the paper.' He took her hand and raised it to his lips, but she made no response.
'Would she ever get the money back again?'
'Perhaps. How can I tell?'
'Even for the bribe you offer, Alec, I am afraid I cannot do it.'
'We will try together. We will lay ourselves out to attract the girl, to win her confidence. Consider. She is alone. She is in our hands——'