"I
am like to love thee, if thou dost woo me with affronts!"
"I am as like to win thee with rough words as I am with soft speeches. I
had thought thee above pretense, Masanath."
"I pretend not," she cried, stamping her foot. "And if thou wouldst know
how I esteem thee, I can tell thee most truthfully."
He laughed and caught her hands. "Nay, save thy judgment. Thou hast a
long life with me before thee, and the minds of women can change in the
blink of an eye. Furthermore, I love thee none the less because thou art
so untamed. Thou art the world I would subdue. So thou dost not give
allegiance to another conqueror, I shall not grieve over thy rebellion.
Is there another?" he asked.
"I would liefer wed with well-nigh any other man in Egypt than with thee,
Rameses," she replied deliberately.
The declaration swept him off his feet.
"Gods! but thou dost hate me," he cried. Panic possessed her for a
moment, remembering Hotep, but it was too late. She returned the
prince's gaze without wavering, though her hands shook pitifully. After
what seemed to her an interminable time, he spoke again.
"Perchance I am unwise in taking thee," he said. "Perchance I but give
thee opportunity to spit me on a dagger in my sleep.
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