I am thinking of the man who could drive such
a bargain with any woman. You say that you have promised to marry him
should he ever be in a position to claim it. What do you mean by that?
As you have told me so much you may as well tell me the rest."
He spoke clearly and with a voice full of authority, but his bearing
did not seem to jar upon Ida.
"I meant," she answered humbly, "that I believe--of course I do not
know if I am right--I believe that Mr. Cossey is in some way entangled
with a lady, in short with Mrs. Quest, and that the question of
whether or no he comes forward again depends upon her."
"Upon my word," said the Colonel, "upon my word the thing gets worse
and worse. I never heard anything like it; and for money too! The
thing is beyond me."
"At any rate," she answered, "there it is. And now, Colonel Quaritch,
one word before I go in. It is difficult for me to speak without
saying too much or too little, but I do want you to understand how
honoured and how grateful I feel for what you have told me to-night--I
am so little worthy of all you have given me, and to be honest, I
cannot feel as pained about it as I ought to feel. It is feminine
vanity, you know, nothing else. I am sure that you will not press me
to say more."
"No," he answered, "no.
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