Ben did not stir, although the brown of his sun-tanned face went white.
"I looked for that," he said simply.
Florence's brown eyes widened in wonder—and in something more—something she did not understand. Her heart was beating more wildly than before. She felt her self-control slipping from her grasp, like a rope through her hands.
"There seems nothing more to be said, then," she said, "except that I will not go."
Even yet Blair did not move.
"You will go. The carriage comes in ten minutes," he reiterated calmly.
The small figure stiffened, the dainty chin tilted in the air.
"I defy you to tell me how you can force me to go!"
It was the supreme moment, but Benjamin Blair showed no trace of excitement or of passion. His folded arms remained passive across his chest.
"Florence Baker, did I ever lie to you?"