O, sir,' murmured Sheila, still on her knees, 'please forgive me.'' Forgive you! 0, la, la, la!' cunningly cried the droll, and strutting like an actor. 'Forgiveness is easy, is it not? O, yes, it is nothing. You are a young woman full of pride. O. yes! - but that is nothing. And full of penitence, and that is nothing, too. Pride is nothing, penitence nothing, forgiveness nothing, but even a bargain in farthings must be paid to be made, and I am a plain businessman. What costs nothing brings no balm, and you would not like that, you would not like that, now would you?' (“The Bogey Man”)

Dusky Ruth: And Other Stories