She must stand before
the people as a perfect woman; she must lend prestige to his name.
When I speak of compulsion, then, I mean the right of a husband--"
Alaire uttered an exclamation of disgust and turned away, but he
intercepted her, saying: "You cannot hold me at bay. It is
destiny. You shall be mine tonight. Think a moment! We are alone
in the heart of a country lacking in every law but mine. Your
friends do not know where you are, and, even if they knew, they
could not help you. Your nation's protest would avail nothing.
Outside of these walls are enemies who will not let you leave this
house except under the protection of my name."
"Then I shall never leave it," she told him.
For the first time Longorio spoke roughly: "I lose patience. In
God's name have I not waited long enough? My strength is gone."
Impulsively he half encircled her with his thin arms, but she
seemed armored with ice, and he dropped them. She could hear him
grind his teeth. "I dare not lay hands upon you," he chattered.
"Angel of my dreams, I am faint with longing. To love you and yet
to be denied; to feel myself aflame and yet to see you cold; to be
halted at the very doors of Paradise! What torture!"
The fellow's self-control in the midst of his frenzy frightened
Alaire more than did his wildest avowals; it was in something of a
panic that she said:
"One moment you tell me I am safe, the next you threaten me.
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