Margaret knew by this time that Logotheti was really very much in love;
she was equally sure that she was not, and that when she encouraged him
she was yielding to a rather complicated temptation that presented
elements of amusement and of mild danger. In plain English, she was
playing with the man, though she guessed that he was not the kind of
man who would allow himself to be played with very long.
There are not many young women who could resist such a temptation under
the circumstances, and small blame to them. Margaret had done nothing
to attract the Greek and was too unsophisticated to understand the
nature of her involuntary influence over him. He was still young, he
was unlike other men and he was enormously rich; a little familiarity
with him had taught her that there was nothing vulgar about him below
the surface, and he treated her with all the respect she could exact
when she chose to put herself in his power. The consequence was that as
she felt nothing herself she sometimes could not resist making little
experiments, just to see how far he would run on the chain by which she
held him. Besides, she was flattered by his devotion.
It was not a noble game that she was playing with him, but in real life
very few young men and women of two-and-twenty are 'noble' all the
time. A good many never are at all; and Margaret had at least the
excuse that the victim of her charms was no simple sensitive soul with
morbid instincts of suicide, like the poor youth who cut his throat for
Lady Clara Vere de Vere, but a healthy millionaire of five-and-thirty
who enjoyed the reputation of having seen everything and done most
things in a not particularly well-spent life.
Besides, she ran a risk, and knew it. The victim might turn at any
moment, and perhaps rend her. Sometimes there was a quick glance in the
almond-shaped eyes which sent a little thrill of not altogether
unpleasant fear through her. She had seen a woman put her head into a
wild beast's mouth, and she knew that the woman was never quite sure of
getting it out again. That was part of the game, and the woman probably
enjoyed the sensation and the doubt, since playing for one s life is
much more exciting than playing for one's money. Margaret began to
understand the lion-tamer's sensations, and not being timid she almost
wished that her lion would show his teeth. She gave herself the luxury
of wondering what form his wrath would take when he was tired of being
played with.