"
"How so? You haven't been imagining that absurd flame in her eyes again?"
Valentine spoke with furtive uneasiness. He was scarcely eating or
drinking, but Julian was doing ample justice to the wine, and displayed a
very tolerable appetite. He lifted his glass to his lips and put it down
before he answered:
"No. It's gone."
Valentine seemed relieved.
"Of course. I knew it was an hallucination. You went to satisfy yourself,
I suppose. And now--"
"Since it's gone Cuckoo seems to me--I don't know--changed somehow. Val,
there must be a few people in the world with great power over others. You
are one. Marr was another, and--" He paused.
"And what?" Valentine said rather loudly.
"Well," Julian paused again, as if conscious that he was about to say
something that would seem ridiculous, "Cuckoo--"
"Is a third! You think it reasonable to bracket me with a woman like
that, to compare my will, mine, who have lived the life of thought as
well as the life of action, who have trained my powers to the highest
point, and offered up sacrifices--yes, sacrifices--to my will, to that
degraded, powerless creature! Julian!"
He stopped, clenching his hand as it lay upon the table. Never before
had Julian seen him so profoundly moved.
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