Cliona’s eyes were enormous in her pale face.
“Is that really the truth?”
“No, of course it isn’t,” he cried. “But how can you tell? It could be true, couldn’t it? I know you, you see. I know that you are honest and true, that your soul is as beautiful as your body, and the way to win you is to make you believe that I am the same.
“Any man with his wits about him would come to you as I am doing, knowing that you would trust him for his frankness. It looks honest, you see. But a man who speaks ill of himself is sometimes telling the truth.”
“Not you,” she said at once. “You say you know me, but I know you. You are incapable of dishonour. If you say you love me, I will believe you.”
“That is why I cannot say it,” he told her bitterly. “How can we marry? Do you remember the words of the
