and make me the happiest of
men? Oh, do not be silent, do not look as if you did not hear! I have
loved you since I first saw you--will you, will you marry me?" Here Mr.
Barker, who was really as much in love as his nature allowed him to be,
moved to the very edge of his chair and tried to take her hand.

"Margaret!" he said, as he touched her fingers.

At the touch she recovered her self-possession, too long lost for such a
case. She had tried to control her anger, had tried to remember whether
by any word she could have encouraged him to so much boldness. Now she
rose to all her haughty height, and though she tried hard to control
herself, there was scorn in her voice.

"Mr. Barker," she said, dropping her hands before her and standing
straight as a statue, "you have made a mistake, and if through any
carelessness I have led you into this error I am sorry for it. I cannot
listen to you, I cannot marry you. As for Dr. Claudius, I will not
permit you to use any slighting words about him. I hold in my possession
documents that could prove his identity as well as any he can obtain in
Germany. But I need not produce them, for I am sure it will be enough
for you to know that I am engaged to be married to him--I am engaged to
be married to Dr. Claudius," she repeated very distinctly in her deep
musical tones; and before Barker could recover himself, she had passed
from the room into the lights and the sound of music beyond.

What do you think, reader? Was it not a brave and noble action of hers
to vindicate Claudius by taking upon herself the whole responsibility of
his love rather than by going home and sending Mr. Barker documentary
evidence of the Doctor's personality? Claudius had never asked her to
marry him, the very word had never been mentioned. But he had told her
he loved her and she had trusted him.

Start not at the infinity of social crime that such a doubt defines. It
is there. It is one thing for a woman to love a man at arm's length
conditionally; it is another for her to take him to her heart and trust
him. Does every millionaire who makes love to a penniless widow mean to
marry her? for Margaret was poor on that Tuesday in Newport. Or reverse
the case; if Claudius were an adventurer, as Barker hinted, what were
the consequences she assumed in declaring herself engaged to marry him?

In spite of her excitement, Margaret was far too much a woman of the
world to create a sensation by walking through the