"His aunt is
here--Monsieur Pelletan told me--and she has pointed out to him the
folly of it! I was silly to think it could come true! But, oh--" and she
dropped sobbing into a chair.
Her father stood for a moment watching the heaving shoulders. Then, with
a face hard as iron, he opened the door and closed it softly behind him.
CHAPTER XIX
An American Opinion of European Morals
"I tell you fellows for the last time," Lord Vernon was saying, "that we
can't keep this thing up any longer. Miss Rushford has served notice on
me that she's going to tell, and dashed if I blame her. Besides, there's
the note."
"The note can't hurt us--I've extracted its sting. As for Miss Rushford,
I might see her again," suggested Collins, who had been pacing nervously
up and down the room.
"See her? Nonsense! You'll do nothing of the sort! What right have we to
bother her? She'd probably send you about your business, anyway. She's
got a heart--something that diplomats know nothing about and never take
into account."
"We didn't take it into account in your case, that's true!" retorted
Collins, with covert irony.
"No, you didn't!" said the other, wheeling short around upon him. "Nor
did I take into account what a damned scoundrelly thing it was I was
persuaded into undertaking.
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