He was already approaching that point, on the day when Lushington was
looking out for him on the road through the Fausses Reposes woods. When
they were well away from the city, he slackened his speed as usual and
began to talk.
'I wish,' he said, 'that you would sometimes be in earnest. Won't you
try?' 'You might not like it,' Margaret answered, carelessly. 'For my part, I
sometimes wish that you were not quite so much in earnest yourself!' 'Do I bore you?' 'No. You never bore me, but you make me feel wicked, and that is very
disagreeable. It is inconsiderate of you to give me the impression that
I am a sort of Lorelei, coolly luring you to your destruction! Besides,
you would not be so easily destroyed, after all. You are able to take
care of yourself, I fancy.' 'Yes. I think my heart will be the last of me to break.' He laughed and
looked at her. 'But that is no reason why you should try to twist my
arms and legs off, as boys do to beetles.' 'I wish I could catch a boy doing it!' 'You may catch a woman at it any day. They do to men what boys do to
insects. Cruelty to insects or animals? Abominable! Shocking! There is
the society, there are fines, there is prison, to punish it! Cruelty to
human beings? Bah! They have souls! What does it matter, if they
suffer? Suffering purifies the spirit for a better life!' 'Nonsense!' 'That is easily said. But it was on that principle that Philip burned
the Jews, and they did not think it was nonsense. The beetles don't
think it funny to be pulled to pieces, either. I don't. A large class
of us don't, and yet you women have been doing it ever since Eve made a
fool and a sinner of the only man who happened to be in the world just
then. He was her husband, which was an excuse, but that's of no
consequence to the argument.' 'Perhaps not, but the argument, as you call it, doesn't prove anything
in particular, except that you are calling me names!' Margaret laughed
again. 'After all,' she went on, 'I do the best I can to be--what shall
I say?--the contrary of disagreeable! You ask me to let you take me to
my rehearsals, and I come day after day, risking something, because you
are disguised. I don't risk much, perhaps--Mrs. Rushmore's disapproval.
But that is something, for she has been very, very good to me and I
wouldn't lose her good opinion for a great deal. And you ask me to
lunch with you, and I come--at least, I've been twice to your house,
and I've lunched once. Really, if you are not satisfied, you're hard to
please! We've hardly known each other a month.' 'During which time I've never had but one idea. Don't raise your
beautiful eyebrows as if you didn't understand!' He spoke very gently
and smiled, though she could not see that.