As a man of the world you can hardly
pretend to be ignorant of what a man will do when his happiness is at
stake. What he does under such a stress is no guide to his real feelings.
But we need not labour that point. My affection, genuine or not, seems to
be in no fair way to be requited, and I had already made up my mind to
leave it at that. I have merely kept up the game to this point out of
curiosity to see how far your--shall we say knight-errantry?--would lead
you. I will now relieve you from the necessity of going through an act of
Quixotic folly which would assuredly, sooner or later, have unpleasant
consequences for you."
So Gifford realized with a thrill of pleasure that he had won. He felt
that in much of his speech the man was lying; that no consideration of
mere unrequited affection had induced him to abandon his design.
"I am glad to hear you have come to a sensible conclusion," he said as
coolly as the sense of triumph would let him. "Whatever happened you
could hardly have expected your--plans to succeed."
"I don't know that," Henshaw retorted, with a touch of a beaten man's
malice. "Anyhow I have my own ideas on the subject.
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