"Leo, you will
not deny it to me--it is Miss Burgoyne! Ah, do I not know!--she is a
serpent!--a cat!--a devil!--"
"Nina," he said, almost angrily, "what are you talking about? Do you
suppose Miss Burgoyne would want a duel fought just because I happened
to pass her, by accident, without raising my hat?--it's absurd."
"Ah, there is more than that, Leo!" Nina cried, eagerly; and then she
paused, in some hesitation and embarrassment. "Yes, there is more than
that," she repeated, as if with an effort, and there was a slight flush
in the pretty, pale face. "Why should I not say it to you? You are too
simple, Leo. You do not understand. She wishes to have the reputation to
be allied with you--in the theatre--out of the theatre. Then she sees
that you drive with me in an open carriage; she hates me--what more
natural? And she is angry with you--"
"Now, Nina," said he, "do you think any woman could be so mad as to want
to have a duel fought simply because she saw me driving past in a
carriage with Mrs. Grey and you--is it reasonable?"
"Leo, you did not see her last night," Nina said, but still with a
little embarrassment, "when she meets me in the corridor--oh, such a
furious woman!--her face white, her eyes burning.
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