she exclaimed in pretended triumphant delight , but what had begun as a jibe directed at him , now seemed to jenny like a painful joke on her , and her voice shook with bitterness and pain , despite her valiant effort to speak in the same bright , satirical vein as she continued : `` you could marry me , and in so doing , take me away from my home and country and bind me to a life of public humiliation and scorn at your hands .