however, the weakness of her vocabulary was offset by the shrill
tone of her surprise. "My DEAR! Why, my DEAR! He hasn't a CENT. Of
course you're quite confused now--you've been through a lot, and
you think he's the only man in the world--but it's impossible.
It's absurd. The marriage was only a form. You're no more his wife
in the sight of God than--"

"Let's not talk about God," cried Lorelei. "That ceremony was
scarcely legal, not to speak of religion or decency."

"You've lost your mind. You've changed completely."

"Yes, I have. You see, I wasn't a wife until yesterday--until Bob
and I had an understanding; but I AM a wife now, and I suppose
I'll never be a girl again. I've begun to think for myself,
mother; I've begun to understand. I've had a suspicion that my old
ideas were wrong, and they were."

"Fiddle-de-dee! You're hysterical. You can't make me believe you
learned to love that man."

"I don't say I love him."

Mrs. Knight snorted her triumph loudly. "Then you mustn't live
with him another moment. My dear child, such a relationship is--
well, think it out for yourself."

Lorelei saw the futility of argument, but certain thoughts
demanded expression, and she voiced them, as much for her own sake
as for her mother's. "It's too late to talk about that kind of