"And what do you suppose your friend learned in those five years of men--after she had ceased to exist as the owner of Arranstoun knew her ?" Sabine laughed, but there was no mirth in the sound.
"Of men! That they are like children, desiring only the toys that are out of reach, wasting their souls upon what they cannot obtain and valuing not at all the gifts of the gods which are in their own possession." "What a cynical view!" "Is it not a true one ?" "Perhaps--in some cases--in mine certainly; only I have generally managed to obtain what I wanted." "Then it may be a new experience for you to find there was one thing which was out of your reach." He bent forward eagerly and asked, with a catch in his breath: "And that was---- ?" "The soul of a woman--shall we say--that something which no brute force can touch." The fencing bout was over, the foils were laid aside, and grim earnest was in Michael's voice now--modulated by civilization into that tone which does not carry beyond one's neighbor at a dinner party.
"Your soul--Sabine--that is the only thing which interests me, and I was never able to touch your soul?
That is not true, as you know--How dare you say it to me.

There was one moment----" "Hush," she whispered, growing very white.

"You must not--you shall not speak to me so.

You had no right to come here.

No right to talk to me at all--it is traitorous--we are both traitors to Lord Fordyce, who is a noble gentleman above suspecting us of such wiles." And at that moment, through a gap in the flowers of the long table, they both saw Henry's gray eyes fixed upon them with a rather questioning surprise--and then Mrs.Forster gave the signal to the ladies, and Sabine with the others swept from the room, leaving Michael quivering with pain and emotion.
As for Sabine, she was trembling from head to foot.
During dinner, Moravia had had an interesting conversation with Henry.
They had spoken of all sorts of things and eventually, toward the end of it, of Sabine.
"She is the strangest character, Lord Fordyce," Moravia said.