A Fair Fraud — page 196: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Fair Fraud 185 coyness, you see, was not of long duration. I wouldn’t mind betting they are secretly engaged at this moment.’ ‘And if they are,’ she retorted angrily, ‘ you, no doubt, will do your best to put an end to the engagement and make them both miser- able. That, I believe, is your fixed principle of doing right.’ } | ‘What a bad opinion you have of me!’ he replied, smiling. ‘Don’t you know that there are moments in a man’s life when :: becomes a positive joy to him to give up the rigidity of his principles, however fixed they may hitherto have been?’ ‘What do you mean? Ido not understand you.’ ‘Don’t you? Must I explain myself further, then?’ Their eyes met, and then hers sank beneath the look of ardent interest she encountered in his. ‘I mean, he went on gently, ‘that if you wish Kenneth to marry this woman, I will promise you not to interfere, however undesirable a marriage | believe it to be. But are you certain that you do wish him to marry her? Let me be sure of that first.’ ‘I wish him to be happy,’ she replied. ‘You—are very fond of Kenneth?’ and as he asked the question he could not entirely keep the anxiety out of his voice, and she GOMMGIOO <S (GO)