And, besides, he felt that he owed her a better turn.

By no means did he actually dislike her as yet; though she was no longer soothing, stimulating, or suggestive to him as she had formerly been.

Her woes, because of him, were too many; her attitude toward him too censorious.

He was perfectly willing to sympathize with her, to regret his own change of feeling, but what would you?
He could not control his own temperament any more than Aileen could control hers.
The worst of this situation was that it was now becoming complicated on Cowperwood's part with the most disturbing thoughts concerning Berenice Fleming.

Ever since the days when he had first met her mother he had been coming more and more to feel for the young girl a soul-stirring passion--and that without a single look exchanged or a single word spoken.