"You forget, sir," he said angrily, "you are insulting my honor."

"Not the least in the world--you do not understand the point,"
Count Roumovski returned calmly. "Listen for a minute--and I will
explain. If Miss Rawson were already your wife I should be, and
you would have the right to try and kill me, did your calling
permit of that satisfaction of gentlemen, because there is a
psychological and physiological reason involved in that case,
producing the instinct in man which he is not perhaps conscious
of, that he wishes to be sure his wife's legitimate offspring are
his own--out of this instinct, civilization has built up the idea
of a man's honor--which you can see has a basic principle of sense
and justice."

Mr. Medlicott with difficulty restrained himself from interrupting
and the Russian went on.

"The situation of betrothed is altogether different: in it there
have merely been promises exchanged, promises, for the most part,
which no man or woman can honestly engage with any certainty to
keep, because feeling toward the other is not within his or her
control--both are promising upon a sentiment, not a reality."

"I totally disagree with you," Eustace Medlicott answered angrily,
"when men and women make promises to one another they should have
wills strong enough to keep them."

"For what sensible reason?" Count Roumovski asked. "In a case
where the happiness of both is involved, and where no damage has