"Is love all sighs and vows?" she cried impatiently. "Will it not sacrifice pride and vanity for the object of its devotion?"
"Everything but honor," answered the man steadfastly.
She made a gesture of despair.
"What is this honor you talk so much about? It is neither Christian nor lawful nor right."
"It is a part of me, Valencia."
"Then your ideas are archaic. The duel was for a time when every man had to seek his personal redress. There is law in this twentieth century."
"Not as between man and man in the case of a personal indignity—at least, not for Manuel Pesquiera."
"But it is so needless. We know you are brave; he knows it, too. Surely your vanity——"
He smiled a little sadly.
"I think it is not vanity, but something deeper. None of my ancestors could have tolerated this stigma, nor can their son. My will has nothing to do with it, and my desire still less. It is kismet."