into place. She looked at her chin, and then went back to her
book--rather sulkily, he thought.

"Now, Aileen, what's the trouble?" he inquired. "Aren't you glad to
have me up here? I know you have had a pretty rough road of it of late,
but aren't you willing to let bygones be bygones and trust to the
future a little?"

"The future! The future! Don't talk to me about the future. It's
little enough it holds in store for me," she replied.

Cowperwood saw that she was verging on an emotional storm, but he
trusted to his powers of persuasion, and her basic affection for him,
to soothe and quell her.

"I wish you wouldn't act this way, pet," he went on. "You know I have
always cared for you. You know I always shall. I'll admit that there
are a lot of little things which interfere with my being at home as
much as I would like at present; but that doesn't alter the fact that
my feeling is the same. I should think you could see that."

"Feeling! Feeling!" taunted Aileen, suddenly. "Yes, I know how much
feeling you have. You have feeling enough to give other women sets of
jade and jewels, and to run around with every silly little snip you
meet. You needn't come home here at ten o'clock, when you can't go
anywhere else, and talk about feeling for me. I know how much feeling
you have. Pshaw!"

She flung herself irritably back in her chair and opened her book.
Cowperwood gazed at her solemnly, for this thrust in regard to
Stephanie was a revelation. This woman business could grow peculiarly
exasperating at times.

"What do you mean, anyhow?" he observed, cautiously and with much
seeming candor. "I haven't given any jade or jewels to any one, nor
have I been running around with any 'little snips,' as you call them.
I don't know what you are talking about, Aileen."

"Oh, Frank," commented Aileen, wearily and incredulously, "you lie so!
Why do you stand there and lie? I'm so tired of it; I'm so sick of it
all. How should the servants know of so many things to talk of here if
they weren't true? I didn't invite Mrs. Platow to come and ask me why
you had given her daughter a set of jade. I know why you lie; you want
to hush me up and keep quiet. You're afraid I'll go to Mr. Haguenin or
Mr. Cochrane or Mr. Platow, or to all three. Well, you can rest your
soul on that score. I won't. I'm sick of you and your lies.
Stephanie Platow--the thin stick! Cecily Haguenin--the little piece of
gum! And Florence Cochran