"I asked you not to go on with this," says Rylton, interrupting he
again. "If you have nothing better to say to me than the abuse of
Marian, I----"

"But I have. What is Marian, what is _anything_ to me except your
marriage with Tita Bolton? Maurice, think of it. Promise me you will
think of it. Maurice, don't go."

She runs to him, lays her hand on his arm, and tries to hold him.

"I must." He lifts her hand from his arm, presses it, and drops it
deliberately. "My dear mother, I can't; I can't, really," says he.

She stands quite still. As he reaches the door, he looks back. She
is evidently crying. A pang shoots through his heart. But it is all
so utterly impossible. To marry that absurd child! It is out of
question. Still, her tears trouble him. He can see her crying as he
crosses the hall, and then her words begin to trouble him even more.
What was it she had said about Marian? It was a hint, a very broad
one. It meant that Marian might love him if he were a poor man, but
could love him much more if he were a rich one. As a fact, she would
marry him if he had money, but not if he were penniless. After all,
why not? She, Marian, had often said all that to him, or at least
some of it. But that other word, of her marrying some other man
should he appear----



CHAPTER IV.