tters fall into the hands of
others, supposing that you lost them, I should be a ruined woman. I
speak frankly, you see; I fully appreciate my danger, principally
because I know that, the more intimate a man and woman have been, the
more chance there is of their becoming bitter enemies. George, give me
those letters; do not overcloud my future with the shadows of the
past."

"You talk as well as you do everything else, Anne; you are really a
very remarkable woman. But, curiously enough, those letters, the
existence of which is so obnoxious to you, are to me a source of great
interest. You know that I love to study character--curious occupation
for a young man, isn't it?--but I do. Well, in my small experience, I
have never yet, either in fiction or in real life, come across such a
fascinating display as is reflected in those letters. There I can, and
often do, trace in minutest detail the agony of a strong mind, can see
the barriers of what people call religion, early training, self-
respect, and other curiosities which we name virtues, bursting away
one by one under pressure, like the water-tight bulkheads they put in
passenger steamers, till at length the work is done; the moral ship
sinks, and the writer stands revealed what you are, my dear Anne, the
loveliest, the cleverest, and the most utterly unscrupulous woman in
the three kingdoms."

She rose very quietly, but quite white with passion, and answered in
her low voice--

"Whatever I am you made me, and _you_ are a devil, George Caresfoot,
or you could not take pleasure in the tortures you inflicted before
you destroyed. But, don't go too far, or you may regret it. Am I a
woman to be played with? I think that you have trained me too well."

He laughed a little uneasily.

"There, you see; _grattez le Russe_, &c., and out comes the true
character. Look at your face in the glass; it is magnificent, but not
pleasant; rather dangerous, indeed. Why, Anne, do be reasonable; if I
gave you those letters, I should never be able to sleep in peace. For
the sake of my own safety I dare not abandon the whip-hand I have of
you. Remember you could, if you chose, say some unpleasant things
about me, and I don't want that any more than you do just now. But,
you see, whilst I hold in my power what would, if necessary,
effectually ruin you, and probably Bellamy too--for this country
society is absurdly prejudiced--I have little cause for fear. Perhaps
in the future you may be