Page:The Other House (London, William Heinemann, 1896), Volume 2.djvu/62

48 Tony's laugh suddenly dropped; he showed the face of a man for whom a joke has sharply turned grave. "And what is it that, in possession of this admirable knowledge, you see?"

Rose faltered; but she had not come so far simply to make a botch of it. "Why, that it's the obvious interest of the person we speak of not to have too stupid a patience with any obstacle to her marrying you."

This speech had a quiet lucidity of which the odd action was for an instant to make him lose breath so violently that, in his quick gasp, he felt sick. In the indignity of the sensation he struck out. "Pray, why is it the person's obvious interest any more than it's yours?"

"Seeing that I love you quite as much as she does? Because you don't love me quite so much as you love her. That's exactly 'why,' dear Tony Bream!" said Rose Armiger.

She turned away from him sadly and nobly, as if she had done with him and with the subject, and he stood where she had left him, gazing at the foolish greenness at his feet and slowly passing his hand over his head. In a few seconds, however, he heard