"Oh, no, no! you must never think that. I told you I was a girl of
moods; under those vines I had one mood, in the hall another. Cannot
you understand?"
"Very little," he admitted, "for I am more inclined to believe you are
the possessor of a strong will than that you are swayed by moods.
Listen. If I thought that a mere senseless mood had caused your
peculiar treatment of me to-night, I should feel justified in yielding
to a mood also. But I will not lower you to that extent in my
estimation; I prefer to believe that you are the true-hearted, frankly
spoken girl of the vine shadow. It is this abiding conviction as to
your true nature which holds me loyal to a test. Miss Naida, is it now
your desire that I leave you?"
He stepped aside, relinquishing her arm, his hat in hand, but she did
not move from where he left her.
"It--it hurts me," she faltered, "for I truly desire you to think in
that way of me, and I--I don't know what is best to do. If I tell you
why I wished to come alone, you might misunderstand; and if I refuse,
then you will suspect wrong, and go away despising me."
"I sincerely wish you might repose sufficient confidence in me as a
gentleman to believe I never betray a trust, never pry into a lady's
secret.
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