But man is born to perversity as the sparks fly upward; which is more
than half the reason why he is born to trouble. Also, perversity
apart, it was early days for a husband, endowed with the normal man's
desire for exclusive possession, to stand the strain of a triangular
household. Therefore, when Quita, extolling Richardson's patience and
gratitude, remarked for the second time with unguarded fervour, "One
really grows much too fond of the dear fellow," Lenox turned upon her a
straight glance of scrutiny.

"Great luck for him. Have you ever told him so, I wonder?"

The undernote of sarcasm in his half-bantering tone brought the blood
to her cheeks. But her manner froze in proportion to her inward heat.

"Am I given to making promiscuous declarations of that sort?"

"Not that I am aware of. But you have rather original ideas on the
platonic question; and one can never quite tell where you draw the
line."

"I draw it at telling a man I am fond of him," she answered, with a
slight lift of her head. "Even a man so little likely to misunderstand
one as your Dick."

"Is _that_ what you call him now?"

"I won't answer such a question. You may think what you please."

Then, in defiance of dignity and pride, her lip quivered, and she came
closer to him.

"Eldred, what makes you say such detestable things? I thought you
wanted me to be good to him. Are you--angry with me about it now?"

The touch of hesitancy, so rare in her, disarmed the man, reawakened
his better self; and slipping an arm round her, he crushed her against
him with a force that took away her breath.

"I'm a selfish brute, Quita. That's all about it," he said bluntly.
"And Dick's the best chap in the world."

She hid her eyes a moment against his coat. Then straightened herself,
and stood away from him. "You exaggerate the selfishness, I assure
you," she said, smiling at his gravity of aspect. "And even if you
didn't, I could forgive that; but not that you should so misunderstand
my whole nature. Honestly, Eldred, I would almost rather you struck
me."

"Struck you? Great Scott!"

The amazement in his eyes brought a sparkle into her own.

"Yes, exactly. That's so like a man! D'you fancy I don't know that if
you laid your littlest finger on me roughly, in a moment of heat, you'd
never forgive yourself? Yet you struck something much more sensitive
than my mere body, when you said you couldn't tell where I drew the
line. I ma