"Well, I managed it, I worked him round to it! He's crazy about the idea
now--but I don't think he'd thought of it before he came."
"I should say not!" Ralph ejaculated. "He never would have had the cheek
to think of it."
"Well, I've made him, anyhow! Did you ever know such luck?"
"Such luck?" He groaned at her obstinate innocence. "Do you suppose I'll
let you cross the ocean on the Sorceress?"
She shrugged impatiently. "You say that because your cousin doesn't go
on her."
"If she doesn't, it's because it's no place for decent women."
"It's Clare's fault if it isn't. Everybody knows she's crazy about you,
and she makes him feel it. That's why he takes up with other women."
Her anger reddened her cheeks and dropped her brows like a black bar
above her glowing eyes. Even in his recoil from what she said Ralph felt
the tempestuous heat of her beauty. But for the first time his latent
resentments rose in him, and he gave her back wrath for wrath.
"Is that the precious stuff he tells you?"
"Do you suppose I had to wait for him to tell me? Everybody knows
it--everybody in New York knew she was wild when you married. That's
why she's always been so nasty to me. If you won't go on the Sorceress
they'll all say it's because she was jealous of me and wouldn't let
you."
Ralph's indignation had already flickered down to disgust. Undine was no
longer beautiful--she seemed to have the face of her thoughts. He stood
up with an impatient laugh.
"Is that another of his arguments? I don't wonder they're convincing--"
But as quickly as it had come the sneer dropped, yielding to a wave of
pity, the vague impulse to silence and protect her. How could he have
given way to the provocation of her weakness, when his business was to
defend her from it and lift her above it? He recalled his old dreams of
saving her from Van Degenism--it was not thus that he had imagined the
rescue.
"Don't let's pay Peter the compliment of squabbling over him," he said,
turning away to pour himself a cup of tea.
When he had filled his cup he sat down beside Undine, with a smile. "No
doubt he was joking--and thought you were; but if you really made him
believe we might go with him you'd better drop him a line."