Neither his wisdom nor his love of jesting explained to her the powerful attraction he exercised over her whole nature, and of which she was, in a manner, ashamed.

She could quarrel with him as often as they met, and yet she could not help being always glad to meet him again.

She could not admit that she liked him because she dominated him; on the contrary, he was the only person she had ever met over whom she had no influence whatever, who did as he pleased without consulting her, and who laughed at her mysterious power so far as he himself was concerned.

Nor was her liking founded upon any consciousness of obligation.

If he had helped her to the best of his ability in the great experiment, it was also clear enough that he had the strongest personal interest in doing so.