take her as an American citizen; whether she is East or West, or North or South, does not make the slightest difference to me. Please go on with the story."
"Well, the other characters, I am happy to be able to say, are not at all indefinite in the matter of nationality. One is an Englishman; he is even more than that, he is an English nobleman. The other is an American. Then there is the English nobleman's mother, who, of course, is an English woman; and the American's sister, married to an Englishman, and she, of course, is English-American. Does that satisfy you?"
"Perfectly. Go on."
"It seems that the besieger, the heroine of the story, if you may call her so, had a past."
"Has not everybody had a past?"
"Oh, no. This past is known to the American and is unknown to the English nobleman."
"Ah, I see; and the American is in love with her in spite of her past?"
"Not in Mr. James's story."
"Oh, I beg pardon. Well, go on; I shall not interrupt again."
"It is the English nobleman who is in love with her in spite of his absence of knowledge about her
