"You must not worry about all that," she said gently. "I must be a poor kind of wife if I am not satisfied as I am." She repeated her words to herself, and felt that there was bitter truth in them. For a moment Wolff remained silent. She thought he was resting, but presently he spoke again, and she knew that he had been preparing himself to approach a graver subject. "Nora, there is something I want you to do for me, something I want you to promise." She looked anxiously down into his face. "What is it, dear?" "I want you to associate less with Bauer—and with Bauer’s relations." "Why?" The one word sounded a defiance. Wolff rose from his kneeling position and stood at her side, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. "Because he is a man I do not trust. It is not my way to speak against a comrade or to accuse lightly, but I have sure reason for asking what I do of you. No man and no woman is the better for Bauer’s friendship." "Does that mean that you do not trust me?" She was angry now—without just cause or reason, simply because she saw in him the embodiment of all the prejudices of the class which had dared to look askance at her. A grave smile passed over her husband’s face. "You know I trust you, Nora; but in our position we must avoid even the appearance of evil. Not so much as a breath of scandal must tarnish my wife’s name." "Ah, ’_your_ wife’!" she said bitterly. "——who is myself," he added. There was a moment’s silence before he went on: "It is not only of you I was thinking, Nora. There is Miles to be considered. He is very young, and possibly easily influenced. No one can tell into what difficulties—what temptations he might be led by unscrupulous hands. Surely you sympathise with me in this?" "My brother is no more likely to act dishonourably than myself," she answered, and again it was her race rather than Miles that she defended. "Nor do I believe Captain Bauer to be the man you describe. He has been very kind to me, and I know to what influence I must ascribe your prejudices. The Selenecks have always hated my—my friendship with the Bauers. No doubt they told you that the Commerzienrat has stolen his wealth." She regretted her words as soon as they had been spoken. In her angry conviction that her conduct had been criticised—perhaps justly criticised—she had allowed herself to say more than she had meant, more even than she believed to be true. "You are not just to me, Nora," Wolff answered quietly. "I have said nothing against the Bauers—I know nothing against them. But they are very rich, and it is their wealth which makes your association with them undesirable. We are poor—our friends are poor. We cannot entertain as they do. And we belong to another class—not a better class, perhaps, but one with other aims and other ideals. You cannot belong to both." "At the bottom, you do think your class superior," Nora interposed scornfully.