For one thing, she felt that if he had been a true lover, he never would have allowed their correspondence to cease, simply because a single letter had gone astray; he would never have been content to let a year and a half pass without making an attempt to see her and learn how she was living and how her father was prospering, after having been robbed of his last dollar by the treachery of his pretended friend.
She began to recover from her confusion almost immediately, however, and lifting her eyes, earnestly searched her companion's face. Somehow, it had never appeared so unattractive to her before; it was weak and showed in the lowering brow, in the habitual expression of discontent, in the sensuous mouth and irresolute chin, a lack of that true nobility and strength of character which she knew she must find in the man whom she married, and even while she looked his eyes wavered and fell before her, while he shifted uneasily upon his chair.
"Mollie, why do you not answer me?" he demanded, to cover his embarrassment, and bending toward her tried to capture one of the small, perfect hands which lay on her lap. "It cannot be possible that you have forgotten the past or lost all the old love for me. Ah! come to me, dearest, let me take care of you, and you never need toil another day; you shall have every luxury which money can buy."
"Phil," Mollie began gently, for she did not wish to wound him, even though not one chord of her heart thrilled responsive to his ardent appeal, while at the same time she quietly, but resolutely, released her hand from his grasp, "I certainly have not forgotten the old days nor the many good times which we enjoyed during our childhood. But when you speak of 'the old love,' that is another thing, and I know now that I never loved you; that is, in the way which you speak of now. When you asked me before, I told you I was not prepared to say just what my feelings toward you were, as you will remember. I felt very friendly, as I said then, 'I liked you right well,' and, as you seemed to be so fond of me and so anxious that our boy-and-girl play should become a reality, I thought I would wait a little, and, perchance, as I came to like you better, the 'like' might grow into love. I could have told you this some time ago if you had renewed the subject, but you never did; your letters ceased coming and I supposed you had thought better of the matter and changed your mind. No, Phil, I do not love you as a woman should love the man she expects to marry; so let us drop the subject here and now and agree to be simply good friends for the future."