Alpha Book

"Won't you?"
"Yes," she said, her pink-and-white prettiness challenging him from
every delicate feature--"yes--I will pardon you--on one condition."
"And what is that, Mrs. Fane?"
"That you are going to ask me something quite unpardonable!" she said
with a daring little laugh. "For if it's anything less improper than an
impropriety I won't forgive you. Besides, there'd be nothing to forgive.
So please begin, Captain Selwyn."
"It's only this," he said: "I am wondering whether you would do anything
for me?"
"_Any_thing! _Merci_! Isn't that extremely general, Captain Selwyn? But
you never can tell; ask me."
So he bent forward, his clasped hands between his knees, and told her
very earnestly of his fears about Gerald, asking her to use her
undoubted influence with the boy to shame him from the card-tables,
explaining how utterly disastrous to him and his family his present
course was.
"He is very fond of you, Mrs. Fane--and you know how easy it is for a
boy to be laughed out of excesses by a pretty woman of experience.


Pages:
348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372