"They love me, Dora." "Your mother has many investments. She is rich. Your sisters are well married. Neither of them would put you before their husbands, why should you put them before your wife and son? If they had loved you, they would not have broken up your home, and driven your wife and child away from you. You were a provider of cash, a giver of social prestige to them--no more." "Then you expect me to give up my family, my business, my country--everything." "I will have everything, or nothing." She rose as she said these words, and stood looking into his face with eyes full of love and trouble. "Then God help me, Theodora," he faltered, "for this hour I die to every hope of happiness in this life!" He lifted her hand, and his tears dropped on it as he kissed it. "Farewell! Farewell!" He was standing before her the image of despairing Love, and she lifted her eyes, and they met the passionate grief in his. She could not bear it. "Oh, Robert!" she sobbed, "Oh, Robert, I do love you. I have loved none but you. I never shall love any other." She laid her head against his shoulder, and he silently kissed her many times, and then went slowly away. He went straight to his brother with his sorrow, and David listened in grave silence, until the story of the interview was over. Then he said softly: "_Poor Theodora!_" Robert was astonished, even hurt by the exclamation. "Why do you pity Theodora?" he asked. "It is I you ought to pity." "You ought to have had pity on yourself, Robert. Of course, you are miserable, and you will be far more miserable. How could you bear to give your wife such a cowardly disappointment; how could you do it?" "I do not understand you, David--cowardly----" "Yes, that is the word for it. You have been persuading her for a month, that you loved her before, and above, all earthly things. As you noticed, she did not at first believe this, but I am sure the last two weeks she has taken all your protestations into her heart." "I told her nothing but the truth." "And as soon as you think she loves you----" "She does love me--she says so." "You take advantage of her love, and ask her to go back to a life that almost killed her, before she fled from it. Poor Theodora! And I call your act a selfish, cowardly one." "What did you expect me to do?" "To give up everything for her." "To give up the works--the Campbell Iron Works! To give them up! Sell them perhaps at a loss! Did you expect I would do this?" "I did. I supposed you wished her to be again your wife." "You know I wished it." "I do not believe you. I think as your holiday was over, you wished to back out of your promise, and you knew the easiest way to do so was to require her to go back to Glasgow." "Back out! What do you mean, David?"