imental; no man does after a certain age, though
women always expect it, as you expect it now."

"What do you intend to do?" he continued, as she did not answer any of
this.

"Just what I have been doing."

"You have no mercy, then?" He looked at her with angry gloom.

"If I can bear it, surely you can."

"No, that doesn't follow. Women are better than men; in some things they
are stronger. But that's because they are sustained--the ones of your
nature at least--by their terrible love of self-sacrifice; I absolutely
believe there are women who _like_ to be tortured!"

"Yes--sometimes we like it," answered the woman he spoke to, a
beautiful, mysterious, exalted expression showing itself for a moment in
her eyes.

He sprang from his chair. But the look of his face as he came towards
her, frightened her, brought her back to the actual present; moving
hurriedly, she put her hand upon the cord of the bell.

"No, not that, that's cruel, that humiliates me--don't, don't. See, it
isn't necessary, I shall be perfectly quiet and reasonable now. Here are
two chairs; come and sit down. Now listen. I will do all that is proper
here--see the people, and make a little visit; then I will go back to
New York. After that, in due time, you must tell them that you are tired
of Florida, that you need a change; you certainly do need a change, as a
plain matter-of-fact; and I see no reason, in any case, for your
spending your entire life here. Of course it will be an uphill
undertaking to get Aunt Katrina started; she will believe that it would
kill her instantly. But it won't kill her; she is stronger than she
thinks. As for Lanse, he can make the journey up as well as he made it
down; he's certainly no worse. Both of them, if you are firm, will end
by doing as you wish, because you are indispensable to their comfort.
The thing is that you _must_ hold firm. Once established in New York, or
near there, I could see you now and then--I mean see you all; Lanse
would ask nothing better than to have me about again. I speak in all
honor, Margaret--I'm not a vile hypocrite, whatever else I may be. I am
growing older; see, I will take your view of that, you are growing older
too; why shouldn't we, then, see each other in this way at intervals?
where would be the harm? It would brighten our lives a little; and as
for the 'home' you wished me to have, its good influences and all that,
I could find them there."

"I shall never see you again,"