Page:Neith Boyce--The bond.djvu/122

120 "I couldn't. You're just the one and only. You combine everything I like—if only you liked me a little more!"

"I love you. … Did I look pretty to-night?" "Charming, dearest. That dress is very nice—is it new?"

"Yes—Nina sent it to me from Rome. It cost a pretty penny!"

"You are a nice person to talk about self-indulgence! When did you deny yourself anything you wanted?"

"Never, if I could get it. But I admire it in other people."

"I daresay!"

"It pleases my æsthetic sense. It has beauty in it. Most people are so smug. I like hungry people."

"That's the reason you liked me, then—because I was starving for you."

She kissed him tenderly.

"Not for me, but for something beautiful that you mistook me for! I'm glad you mistook me."

"I didn't—I just took you."

She smiled. All the weariness was gone now from her look. She looked young and joyous. She went to a mirror and admired herself in the blue and silver dress.

"Yes, I am pretty," she said confidingly. "I like the dress—it makes my eyes look bluer. Can