She spoke in a tone of such profound disdain, that Daniel, stung to the quick, forgot the discretion which he had intended to observe, and said,—­

“Since you insist upon it, Miss Brandon, I must confess that there is one doubt which you have not removed.”

“Which?”

Daniel hesitated, regretting the words he had allowed to escape him.  But he had gone too far now to retract.  He replied,—­

“I do not understand, Miss Brandon, how you can marry Count Ville-Handry.”

“Why not?”

“You are young.  You are immensely rich, you say.  The count is sixty-six years old.”

She, who had been so daring that nothing seemed to be able to disconcert her, now lowered her head like a timid boarding-school girl who has been caught acting contrary to rules; and a flood of crimson spread over her face, and every part of her figure which was not concealed by her dress.

“You are cruel, sir!” she stammered; “the secret into which you pry is one of those which a girl hardly dares to confide to her mother.”

He was triumphant, thinking he had caught her at last.

“Ah, indeed!” he said ironically.

But the proud young lady did not waver, and replied with bitter sadness,—­

“You will have it so; be it so.  For your sake, I will lay aside that veil of proud reserve which conceals the mysteries of a young girl’s heart.  I do not love Count Ville-Handry.”

Daniel was startled.  This confession seemed to him the height of imprudence.

“I do not love him,—­at least not with real love; and I have never allowed him to hope for such a feeling.  Still I shall be most happy to become his wife.  Do not expect me to explain to you what is going on within me.  I myself hardly understand it as yet.  I can give no precise name to that feeling of sympathy which attracts me towards him.  I have been captivated by his wit and his kindness; his words have an indescribable charm for me.  That is all I can tell you.”

Daniel could not believe his ears.

“And,” she continued, “if you must have motives of more ordinary character, I will confess to you that I can no longer endure this life, harassed as I am by vile calumnies.  The palace of Count Ville-Handry appears to me an asylum, where I shall bury my disappointments and my sorrows, and where I shall find peace and a position which commands respect.  Ah! you need not be afraid for that great and noble name.  I shall bear it worthily and nobly, and shrink from no sacrifice to enhance its splendor.  You may say that I am a calculating woman.  I dare say I am; but I see nothing mean or disgraceful in my hopes.”

Daniel had thought he had confounded her, and it was she who crushed him by her bold frankness; for there was nothing to say, no reasonable objection to make.  Fifty marriages out of every hundred are made upon less high ground.  Miss Brandon, however, was not a woman to be easily overcome.  She rose as she spoke, to her former haughtiness, and inspired herself with the sound of her voice.