with her eyes flashing fire at him, "if you cannot
treat your master's daughter better than that, you may as well go."

"Is it not true?" demanded Souchey.

"No, it is not true; it is false. I have never taken money from Anton;
nor shall I do so till we are married."

"And that will be never," said Souchey. "It is as well to speak out at
once. The priest will not let it be done."

"All the priests in Prague cannot hinder it," said Nina.

"That is true," said Balatka.

"We shall see," said Souchey. "And in the mean time what is the good
of fighting with the Zamenoys? They are your only friends, Nina, and
therefore you take delight in quarrelling with them. When people have
money, they should be allowed to have a little pride." Nina said
nothing further on the occasion, though Souchey and her father went
on grumbling for an hour. She discovered, however, from various words
that her father allowed to fall from him, that his opposition to her
marriage had nearly faded away. It seemed to be his opinion that if she
were to marry the Jew, the sooner she did it the better. Now, Nina was
determined that she would marry the Jew, though heaven and earth should
meet in consequence. She would marry him if he would marry her. They
had told her that the Jew would jilt her. She did not put much faith in
the threat; but even that was more probable than that she should jilt
him.

On the following morning Souchey, in return, as it were, for his
cruelty to his young mistress on the preceding day, produced some small
store of coin which he declared to be the result of a further sale of
the last relics of his master's property; and Nina's journey with the
necklace to the pawnbroker was again postponed. That day and the next
were passed in the old house without anything to make them memorable
except their wearisome misery, and then Nina again went out to visit
the Jews' quarter. She told herself that she was taken there by the
duties of her position; but in truth she could hardly bear her life
without the comfort of seeing the only person who would speak kindly
to her. She was engaged to marry this man, but she did not know when
she was to be married. She would ask no question of her lover on that
matter; but she could tell him--and she felt herself bound to tell him
--what was really her own position, and also all that she knew of his
affairs. He had given her to understand that he could not marry her
till he had obtained possession