nteresting, and I like him, but
he's a cynic. He doesn't want anybody to be happier than he is. But what
may be true of him, isn't true of me. I've never stopped loving you
since the first day we talked together. And I should think I'd done
enough to prove it."

"That's it," she said. "You've done too much. And you're so sorry for me
when you don't love me, that it makes you do all the more."

She had found another joint in his armor. She was absolutely clairvoyant
to-night, and this time he fairly cried out, "Stop it!"

Then he got himself together and begged her pardon. "After all, I don't
see what it comes to," he said. "I don't know what we're fighting about
to-night. You're saying you think we ought to do more playing around
with the Lakes and people like that; not spend all our time with the
Casino set, as we have done this winter. Well, that may be good sense.
I've no objection certainly."

"Well, then," she said, "that's settled--that's one thing settled. But
there's something else. Oh, it all comes to the same thing, really.
Roddy,"--she had to gulp and draw a long breath and steady herself
before this--"Roddy, how much money have you got, and how much are we
spending?"

"Oh, good lord!" he cried. "_Please_ don't go into that now, Rose. It's
after one o'clock, and you're worn to a frazzle. If we've got to go into
it, let's do it some other time, when we can be sensible about it."

"When I am, you mean?"

"Yes," he said.

"Well, I'm sensible now. I can't help it if my--voice chokes and my eyes
fill up. That's silly, of course, but down in my mind, I don't believe
I've ever been as sensible as I am right now. And I've had the nerve to
ask--I don't know when I will again--and I know you won't bring the
subject up by yourself. I've been trying to for ever so long. But
money's always seemed the one thing I couldn't b-bear to talk about with
you.

"You see, when I first told mother and Portia about you--about how you
helped me with the conductor that night, I told them your name, and
Portia said she didn't think it could be you, because you were a
millionaire. I supposed she knew. Anyway, I didn't think very much about
it. You yourself,--just being with you and hearing you talk, were so
much more important. After we got engaged, and you began doing all
sorts of lovely things for me, I enjoyed it of course. But it was just
something that went with you. After we were married and took this
house ... Well, I