Why, you didn't suppose I'd be anything else, did you ?" She opened her pallid lips to speak and could not.
"Loyal!" he repeated indignantly.

"There's no merit in that when a man's been in love with a girl all his life and didn't know it until she'd got good and tired of him! You know I'm for you every time, Sylvia; what's the game in pretending you didn't know it ?" "No game....

I didn't--know it." "Well, you do now, don't you ?" Her face was colourless as marble.

She said, looking at him: "Suppose the rumour is true ?" His face flamed: "You don't know what you are saying!" he retorted, horrified.
"Suppose it is true ?" "Sylvia--for Heaven's sake----" "Suppose it _is_ true," she repeated in a dead, even voice; "how loyal would you remain to me then ?" "As loyal as I am now!" he answered angrily, "if you insist on my answering such a silly question----" "Is that your answer ?" "Certainly.

But----" "Are you _sure_ ?" He glared at her; something struck coldly through him, checking breath and pulse, then releasing both till the heavy beating of his heart made speech impossible.
"I thought you were not sure," she said.
"I _am_ sure!" he broke out.