The contessa was endeavoring to be mischievous, but Armstrong was in no mood for her pleasantries. He resented the words no less than the expression upon her face. Yet he himself was partially responsible, and this thought kept back the words upon his lips which if spoken would have been regretted. He looked intently into her face before he answered, and the contessa’s smile faded.
“Instead of replying to your question,” Armstrong said, quietly, with his eyes still fixed upon her, “may I not ask you a favor?”
“Surely you may ask it,” she replied; “but that does not mean that I must grant it, does it?”
“You need not grant it unless you choose,” pursued Armstrong; “but at least I shall have the satisfaction of asking it: will you not add one more class into which you separate the men you meet?”
The contessa laughed merrily. “What a curious request to be made so seriously!” she exclaimed. “Of whom shall the new class be composed?”
“Of those men who are husbands and who love their wives,” Armstrong replied, feelingly; “who despise intrigue and disloyalty and hypocrisy in either sex; who consider honor and life as synonyms; and who, even for the sake of civility, cannot allow misinterpretations to cast a shadow upon the sanctity of marriage.”
“Mon Dieu!” cried the contessa, making a pretty moue as she rose and moved toward the veranda; “and I thought he had no temperament! Shall I put you in this exotic class? Oh no; you would be so lonesome!”
“I could not expect you to understand,” Armstrong replied, in a low tone, biting his lip with vexation.
Amélie watched his expression intently, a complete change coming over her manner. The flippant bearing was gone; the smile, aggravating as it was attractive, vanished. She took a step toward him as she spoke.
“But I do understand,” she said, slowly, in a low, tense voice. “Perhaps I ought to feel shamed by your contempt and indignant at your criticism. On the contrary, I am glad that I incurred both, for by it I have learned that a man can be honest, and that appearances are not always the safest guides. What you have said is what a woman understands by instinct; anything different is what she learns—from men. Will you forgive me? I shall not offend again.”