Fair Margaret - Page 132/206

Margaret knew by this time that Logotheti was really very much in love;

she was equally sure that she was not, and that when she encouraged him

she was yielding to a rather complicated temptation that presented

elements of amusement and of mild danger. In plain English, she was

playing with the man, though she guessed that he was not the kind of

man who would allow himself to be played with very long.

There are not many young women who could resist such a temptation under

the circumstances, and small blame to them. Margaret had done nothing

to attract the Greek and was too unsophisticated to understand the

nature of her involuntary influence over him. He was still young, he

was unlike other men and he was enormously rich; a little familiarity

with him had taught her that there was nothing vulgar about him below

the surface, and he treated her with all the respect she could exact

when she chose to put herself in his power. The consequence was that as

she felt nothing herself she sometimes could not resist making little

experiments, just to see how far he would run on the chain by which she

held him. Besides, she was flattered by his devotion.

It was not a noble game that she was playing with him, but in real life

very few young men and women of two-and-twenty are 'noble' all the

time. A good many never are at all; and Margaret had at least the

excuse that the victim of her charms was no simple sensitive soul with

morbid instincts of suicide, like the poor youth who cut his throat for

Lady Clara Vere de Vere, but a healthy millionaire of five-and-thirty

who enjoyed the reputation of having seen everything and done most

things in a not particularly well-spent life.

Besides, she ran a risk, and knew it. The victim might turn at any

moment, and perhaps rend her. Sometimes there was a quick glance in the

almond-shaped eyes which sent a little thrill of not altogether

unpleasant fear through her. She had seen a woman put her head into a

wild beast's mouth, and she knew that the woman was never quite sure of

getting it out again. That was part of the game, and the woman probably

enjoyed the sensation and the doubt, since playing for one s life is

much more exciting than playing for one's money. Margaret began to

understand the lion-tamer's sensations, and not being timid she almost

wished that her lion would show his teeth. She gave herself the luxury

of wondering what form his wrath would take when he was tired of being

played with.