"
He came and stood directly before her:
"I dare not utter one word of love to you; I dare not touch you. What
chance is there for such a man as I?"
"No chance--for us," she whispered. "Go!"
For a second he stood motionless, then, swaying slightly, turned on his
heel.
And long after he had left the house she still stood there, eyes closed,
colourless lips set, her slender body quivering, racked with the first
fierce grief of a woman's love for a man.
CHAPTER XII
HER WAY
Neergard had already begun to make mistakes. The first was in thinking
that, among those whose only distinction was their wealth, his own
wealth permitted him the same insolence and ruthlessness that so
frequently characterised them.
Clever, vindictively patient, circumspect, and commercially competent as
he had been, his intelligence was not of a high order. The intelligent
never wilfully make enemies; Neergard made them gratuitously, cynically
kicking from under him the props he used in mounting the breach, and
which he fancied he no longer needed as a scaffolding now that he had
obtained a foothold on the outer wall.
Pages:
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667