" He bowed his head, and
she could see the blue vein in his temple growing bluer and swelling
as he spoke. He had not laid a finger upon her, he could not so much
as lift his eyes up to her face, but a mocking breeze suddenly blew a
fold of her raiment against his cheek, and he kissed it passionately.
Helene held her hands tightly together; they were trembling violently.
"I want to beg of you," he said, still without looking up, "to look
upon me with suspicion, aversion, and distrust; to disbelieve any good
you may hear of me; to hate me if you can; to treat me as long as you
live with uniform coldness and indifference."
"I understand," she replied with icy brevity, "you think there is
danger of my treating you otherwise."
Now, since the discovery of the locket, and its tell-tale contents,
this was precisely the danger that Edward had feared, but he was a
diplomatist.
"Have you ever given me the slightest reason to think so?" he
demanded. "At my least approach your natural pride changes to
haughtiness, arrogance, and scorn. But the one thing greater than
your pride is my love. Ah, you know nothing about it--you cannot
imagine its power.
Pages:
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320