Part 35 (1/2)
”You mean to keep it?”
”I must”
”Why?”
”It was my father's wish”
”And yet--you don't like hiirl said tensely: ”I loathe him”
”Then,” cried P Sybarite in a joyful voice, ”I : you needn't marry him”
She turned startled eyes to his, incredulous
”_Need_ not?”
”I should have said _can_ not--”
Through the loud hu the room, had furnished a cover for their conversation, sounded the opening bars of irl rose suddenly, eyes like stars afla for me now,” she said hurriedly ”But--if you mean what you say--I e to avoid hi thenearby
Through its draped opening a shallow balcony showed, half-screened by palht, shone a garish green against the soton slipped through the hangings and, turning, beckoned P Sybarite to follow
”There's no one here,” she announced in accents tremulous with excitement, when he joined her ”Now--_now_ tell ently, turning back to thejust as it was darkened by another figure
Theblindly into the semi-obscurity
”Marian?” he called in a voice irl deht I saw you,” he co face to face with the bristling little Mephistophelean figure, which he had endeavoured to ignore
”My dance, I believe,” he added a trace more brusquely, over the little irl coldly
”You don't care to dance again to-night?”
”Thank you--no”
”Then I will giveit out with you”
”I'm afraid you'll have to excuse me, Bayard,” she returned, consistently inflexible