nd
that any other pretence would be false.

"You know I love him--" said Nina, "and I'm going to marry him."

I can see then Vera taking a tremendous pull upon herself as though she
suddenly saw in front of her a gulf into whose depths, in another
moment, she would fall. But my vision of the story, from this point, is
Nina's.

Vera told me no more until she came to the final adventure of the
evening. This part of the scene then is witnessed with Nina's eyes, and
I can only fill in details which, from my knowledge of them both, I
believe to have occurred. Nina, knew, of course, what the effect of her
announcement would be upon Vera, but she had not expected the sudden
thin pallor which stole like a film over her sister's face, the
withdrawal, the silence. She was frightened, so she went on recklessly.
"Oh, I know that he doesn't care for me yet.... I can see that of
course. But he will. He must. He's seen nothing of me yet. But I am
stronger than he, I can make him do as I wish. I _will_ make him. You
don't want me to marry him and I know why."

She flung that out as a challenge, tossing her head scornfully, but
nevertheless watching with frightened eyes her sister's face. Suddenly
Vera spoke, and it was in a voice so stern that it was to Nina a new
voice, as though she had suddenly to deal with some new figure whom she
had never seen before.

"I can't discuss that with you, Nina. You can't marry because, as you
say, he doesn't care for you--in that way. Also if he did it would be a
very unhappy marriage. You would soon despise him. He is not clever in
the way that you want a man to be clever. You'd think him slow and dull
after a month with him.... And then he ought to beat you and he
wouldn't. He'd be kind to you and then you'd be ruined. I can see now
that I've always been too kind to you--indeed, every one has--and the
result is, that you're spoilt and know nothing about life at all--or
men. You are right. I've treated you as a child too long. I will do so
no longer."

Nina turned like a little fury, standing back from Vera as though she
were going to spring upon her. "That's it, is it?" she cried. "And all
because you want to keep him for yourself. I understand. I have eyes.
You love him. You are hoping for an intrigue with him.... You love him!
You love him! You love him!... and he doesn't love you and you are so
miserable...."

Vera looked at Nina, then suddenly turned and burying her head in her
hands s