Page:The Fruit of the Tree (Wharton 1907).djvu/216

Rh “Why do I go on setting them forth at such great length?” Amherst smiled again “To convince you—that’s my only ambition.”

She stared at him, shaking her head back to toss a loose lock from her puzzled eyes. A tear still shone on her lashes, but with the motion it fell and trembled down her cheek.

“To convince me? But you know I am so ignorant of such things.”

“Most women are.”

“I never pretended to understand anything about—economics, or whatever you call it.”

“No.”

“Then how”

He turned and looked at her gently. “I thought you might have begun to understand something about me.”

“About you?” The colour ﬂowered softly under her clear skin.

“About what my ideas on such subjects were likely to be worth—judging from what you know of me in other respects.” He paused and glanced away from her. “Well,” he concluded deliberately, “I suppose I’ve had my answer tonight.”

"Oh, John!”

He rose and wandered across the room, pausing a moment to ﬁnger absently the trinkets on the dressing-table. The act recalled with a curious vividness [ 200 ]