And although Eugene was not the most patient of his kind, Claudia did not think that she had put more upon him than he was able to bear--certainly not more than he deserved to bear.

She would have dearly loved the luxury of refusing him, and although she had not been able to make up her mind to this extreme measure, she had, at least, succeeded in infusing a spice of difficulty into his wooing.

She was so content with the aspect of affairs in this direction that it did not long detain her thoughts, and she found herself pondering more on the disclosure Eugene had made of Stafford's feelings than on his revelation of his own.

It is difficult, without the aid of subtle distinctions, to say exactly what degree of surprise she felt at the news.

She must, no doubt, have seen that Stafford was greatly attracted to her, and probably she would have felt that the description of his state of mind as that of a man in love only erred to the extent that a general description must err when applied to a particular case.