"Then, in God's name, what must I do?"
"You must settle that with her. You mustn't break faith. Anything is
better than that. You must at any rate be utterly sure. She _must_ love
you--how can she help it? _I_ wouldn't give you up!" said Fleda. She
spoke in broken bits, panting out her words. "The great thing is to keep
faith. Where _is_ a man if he doesn't? If he doesn't he may be so cruel.
So cruel, so cruel, so cruel!" Fleda repeated. "I couldn't have a hand
in _that_, you know: that's my position--that's mine. You offered her
marriage: it's a tremendous thing for her." Then looking at him another
moment, "_I_ wouldn't give you up!" she said again. He still had hold of
her arm; she took in his blank alarm. With a quick dip of her face she
reached his hand with her lips, pressing them to the back of it with a
force that doubled the force of her words. "Never, never, never!" she
cried; and before he could succeed in seizing her she had turned and,
scrambling up the stairs, got away from him even faster than she had got
away from him at Ricks.