She is, Althea thought uneasily, what I pretend to be: a woman who does not let her sex deter her from living as she pleases.

What good does it do you to love?

Let us agree that we are marrying so we can go on quarreling in the greatest comfort and convenience. Oh, please, Althea, look at me. Do say yes.

I love you, Althea—you are so beautiful,” murmured the young man into my ear.Well, I was willing enough. I looked up at him from under my eyelashes. “I love you too,” I confessed. I averted my gaze and added privately, “You are so rich.”Unfortunately, I apparently said this aloud, if just barely, and his hearing was sharper than one would expect, given his other attributes.