"I think now what I thought then. You were not innocent, but guilty. You were just a plain, ordinary sneak, Madalena, because you were jealous and spiteful." "It is not true! Spiteful against _you_! It was never in my heart to lie. Jealous, perhaps. But that is not to say I wrote the letter you believe I wrote. You didn't give me time to try and prove I did not write the letter. You accused me brutally. You ordered me out of England, with threats. I obeyed because I was heartbroken, not because I was afraid." "Why trouble to excuse yourself?" he asked. "It's not worth the time it takes. If you've come to tell me anything in particular, tell it, and let's make an end." "I have an offer of marriage from a millionaire," the Countess announced in a clear, triumphant tone. "Which no doubt you accepted, not to say snapped at." "Not yet. I put him off, because I wanted to see you before I answered." "You flatter me!" Knight laughed, not pleasantly. "If you've come from San Francisco to get my advice on that subject, I can give it while you count three. Make sure of the unfortunate wretch before he changes his mind." "Ah, if I could think that your harshness comes from just a little--_ever_ so little, jealousy!" Madalena sighed. "He won't change his mind. There is no danger. He is old, and I seem a young girl to him. He adores me. He is on his knees!" "Bad for rheumatism!" "He thinks I am the most wonderful creature who ever lived. I met him through my work. He came from a friend of his who told him about my crystal, and about me, too." "You are still working the crystal?" "But, of course! It has always given me the path to success. If I marry this man I shall be able to rest." "On your laurels--such as they are!" "On his money. He can't live many years." "You are an affectionate fiancee!" "I am not a fiancee yet. Not till I give my answer. And that depends on you.... Oh, Don, surely you must be sick of this--this existence, for it is not life! I know you are angry with me, but you can't hate me really. It is not possible for a man with blood in his body to hate a woman who loves him as I love you. "I have tried to get over it. At first I thought I was succeeding. But no, when the reaction came, I found that I cared more than ever. We were born for each other. It must be so, for without you I am only half alive. I haven't come for your advice, Don, but to make you an offer. Oh, not an offer of myself. I should not dare, as you feel now. And it is not an offer from me only; it is from a great person who has something to give which is worth your accepting, even if my love is not!" "You've got in touch with _him_, have you?" Knight broke into the rushing torrent of her words as a man might take a plunge into a cataract. "Why not?" she answered. "I didn't seek him out. It was he who sought me."