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“You–you are a perfect idiot!” she said shakily. And on the words she tried to laugh, but only succeeded in partially smothering a sob.

“Oh, I say!” said Lord Ronald. He got up awkwardly, and stood behind her. “Please don’t take it to heart,” he urged. “I shouldn’t have told you, only–you know–you asked. And it wouldn’t make any difference, on my honour it wouldn’t. Won’t you take my word for it, and give me a trial?”

“No,” she said.

“Why not?” he persisted. “Don’t you think you are rather hard on me? I shall never take a single inch more than you care to allow.”

She turned upon him suddenly. Her cheeks were burning and her eyes were wet, but she no longer cared about his seeing these details.

“What did you mean?” she demanded unexpectedly, “by saying to me that those fight hardest who fight in vain?”

He was not in the least disconcerted.

“I meant that though you might send me about my business you would not quite manage to shake me off altogether.”

“Meaning that you would refuse to go?” she asked, with a quiver that might have been anger in her voice.

“Meaning,” he responded quietly, “that though you might deny me yourself, it might not be in your power to deny me the pleasure of serving you.”

“And is it not in my power?” she asked swiftly.

He was looking at her very intently.

“No,” he said in his most deliberate drawl. “I don’t think it is.”

“But it is,” she asserted, meeting his look with blazing eyes. “You cannot possibly enter my service without my consent. And–and–I am not going to consent to that mad scheme of yours.”

“No?” he said.

“No,” she repeated with emphasis. “You yourself are the obstacle, as I said before. If–if you had not been in love with me, I might have considered it. But–now–it is out of the question. Moreover,” her eyes shot suddenly downwards, as though to hide their fire, “I shall not want that sort of protector now.”

“No?” he said again, very softly this time. He was standing straight before her, still closely watching her with that in his eyes that he had never permitted there before.

“No!” she repeated once more, and again brokenly she laughed; then suddenly raised her eyes to his, and gave him both her hands impetuously, confidingly, yet with a certain shyness notwithstanding. “I–I am going to marry again after all,” she said, “if–if you will have me.”

“My dear,” said Lord Ronald, very tenderly, “I always meant to!”