Michael repeatedly proposes to Angel and invites her to leave

Michael repeatedly proposes marriage to Angel and urges her to leave Pair-a-Dice, making his commitment a direct challenge to her expectation that every offer conceals another transaction. She refuses, and his persistence does not immediately overcome her distrust: the scene turns on the difference between promising rescue and earning her confidence.

The Proposal and Angel’s Refusal

Michael first tells Angel that they are going to marry and that he will take her away. She laughs that it is her third proposal that day and responds with cold skepticism, asking when she is expected to begin playing her part. He answers that he wants to know her better before anything is settled, but the promise of marriage has already met a woman accustomed to hearing promises as persuasion.

On another visit, Michael stands and asks her to come away with him and be his wife. Angel dismisses the idea, suggesting that a man who wants a wife could seek one elsewhere. He insists that he can give her a good life and says her past does not matter to him. Angel counters that she has heard such declarations from many men and does not believe his claim that he can offer something different.

Persistence Without Consent

Michael returns to the proposal in quieter terms, asking Angel to come home with him and be his wife. She shrugs off his hands and moves away, plainly saying that she does not want to leave. When a knock at the door interrupts their conversation, Angel is relieved, takes Michael’s hat from its hook, and makes clear that his allotted time is over. He leaves disappointed but says he will return.

His repeated visits continue. Angel recognizes that he keeps asking the same question in different ways and that each visit finds him more determined. Even when Bret Magowan warns him to get dressed and leave to avoid trouble, Michael has not unbuttoned his shirt. He again tells her to come away and marry him, then urges her to dress for travel and go with him immediately. Angel firmly refuses, invokes Magowan as a possible obstacle, and finally tells Michael to leave. His resolve is evident, but her answer remains no.

The Meaning of the Repeated Invitation

The proposals place Michael’s idea of marriage against Angel’s suspicion that intimacy and security are simply new forms of exchange. His offer of a life beyond Pair-a-Dice is sincere in the terms he states, yet sincerity alone cannot undo her learned distrust. The repeated invitation therefore marks both his constancy and the limits of his ability to decide for her: he can return and ask, but Angel retains the choice to stay.

That tension continues to shape their relationship. Michael later remembers Angel’s past suffering and her anger when she felt hurt, and he understands their marriage as a bond that obliges him to seek her return. When Angel explains that she went back to Pair-a-Dice to recover her gold, she identifies a material goal rather than a response to his promises. The contrast underscores how differently they understand security: Michael offers a shared life, while Angel remains focused on resources she can control herself.