Ah, it was good to feel there was someone to whom she was everything in the world! "Don't ask me to betray my trust, Jeff," she faltered.

"You know I am not indifferent to you--far from it.

But I--" He came closer until his face nearly touched hers.
"I love you--I want you," he murmured feverishly.

"Give me the right to claim you before all the world as my future wife!" Every note of his rich, manly voice, vibrating with impetuous passion, sounded in Shirley's ear like a soft caress.

She closed her eyes.