"I've said too much; I may as well tell you all," she said, with a shrug of her white shoulders. "It was a marriage of convenience. We--my people--were poor, and it was a great match for me. There was no talk of love--love!" She laughed again, and the laugh made Nell wince. "It was just a bargain. Such bargains are made every day in this vile marriage market of ours. I was as innocent as you, Nell. The glitter of the thing--the title, the big house, the position--dazzled me. I thought I should be more contented and satisfied. Other girls have done the same thing, and they seemed happy enough. But I suppose I am different. I wearied of the whole thing--the title, the big house, the diamonds, everything--before the first month. I wanted something else; I scarcely knew what----Ah, yes, I did! I did! I wanted love--the thing they all laugh and sneer at! I had sold myself for gold and place and power, and when I had gotten them they all turned to Dead Sea fruit, dust and ashes, on my lips!" She gripped her hands tightly, and bent lower over the fire, and Nell sank on her knees beside her, pale herself, and incapable of speech. "For a time I tried to bear it, to live the weary, dragging life; then, when I was nearly mad--I tried to find relief in the world outside my own home. I was supposed to be clever--clever! I could write and talk. I took up this woman's rights business!" She laughed again. "All the time they were lauding me to the skies and flattering and fooling me, I knew how stupid the whole thing was. But it seemed the only chance for me, the only way of forgetting myself and--and my slavery. At any rate, it served as an excuse for getting out of the house, for not inflicting my presence upon the man who had bought me, and who regarded me simply as the figurehead for his table, the person to receive his guests and play the necessary part in his public life." "No, no! You're wrong, wrong!" said Nell earnestly. Lady Wolfer seemed scarcely to have heard her. "I ought to have known that it would not help me long. It has come to an end. I am going to end it. I cannot bear this life any longer--I cannot, I cannot! I will not! I have only one life--that I know of----" "Oh, hush, hush!" Nell implored. "You are all wrong! I know it, I am sure of it! You think he does not care for you. He does, he does! If you had seen his face to-night--had heard his voice!" Lady Wolfer looked at her with a half-startled glance; then she shook her head and smiled bitterly. "No, I am not wrong," she said. "I know what love is--at last! It beckons me--I have resisted--God knows I have struggled with and fought against it--have kept it from me with both hands--but my strength has failed me at last, and----" Nell caught her arm and clung to it. "Oh, what do you mean?" she asked, in vague terror. Lady Wolfer started, and slowly unclasped Nell's hands.