第28章

“Youmustnotthinkmeinquisitive，madame，“Ireplied；“but，ifGradenissodangerousaplace，youyourselfperhapsremainhereatsomerisk。“

Sheonlylookedatmereproachfully。

“Youandyourfather——“Iresumed；butsheinterruptedmealmostwithagasp。

“Myfather！Howdoyouknowthat？“shecried。

“Isawyoutogetherwhenyoulanded，“wasmyanswer；andIdonotknowwhy，butitseemedsatisfactorytobothofus，asindeeditwastruth。“But，“Icontinued，“youneedhavenofearfromme。I

seeyouhavesomereasontobesecret，and，youmaybelieveme，yoursecretisassafewithmeasifIwereinGradenFloe。Ihavescarcespokentoanyoneforyears；myhorseismyonlycompanion，andevenhe，poorbeast，isnotbesideme。Yousee，then，youmaycountonmeforsilence。Sotellmethetruth，mydearyounglady，areyounotindanger？“

“Mr。Northmoursaysyouareanhonorableman，“shereturned，“andI

believeitwhenIseeyou。Iwilltellyousomuch；youareright；

weareindreadful，dreadfuldanger，andyoushareitbyremainingwhereyouare。“

“Ah！“saidI；“youhaveheardofmefromNorthmour？Andhegivesmeagoodcharacter？“

“Iaskedhimaboutyoulastnight，“washerreply。“Ipretended，“

shehesitated，“Ipretendedtohavemetyoulongago，andspokentoyouofhim。Itwasnottrue；butIcouldnothelpmyselfwithoutbetrayingyou，andyouhadputmeinadifficulty。Hepraisedyouhighly。“

“And——youmaypermitmeonequestion——doesthisdangercomefromNorthmour？“Iasked。

“FromMr。Northmour？“shecried。“Oh，no，hestayswithustoshareit。“

“WhileyouproposethatIshouldrunaway？“Isaid。“Youdonotratemeveryhigh。“

“Whyshouldyoustay？“sheasked。“Youarenofriendofours。“

Iknownotwhatcameoverme，forIhadnotbeenconsciousofasimilarweaknesssinceIwasachild，butIwassomortifiedbythisretortthatmyeyesprickedandfilledwithtears，asI

continuedtogazeuponherface。

“No，no，“shesaid，inachangedvoice；“Ididnotmeanthewordsunkindly。“

“ItwasIwhooffended，“Isaid；andIheldoutmyhandwithalookofappealthatsomehowtouchedher，forshegavemehersatonce，andeveneagerly。Ihelditforawhileinmine，andgazedintohereyes。Itwasshewhofirsttoreherhandaway，and，forgettingallaboutherrequestandthepromiseshehadsoughttoextort，ranatthetopofherspeed，andwithoutturning，tillshewasoutofsight。AndthenIknewthatIlovedher，andthoughtinmygladheartthatshe——sheherself——wasnotindifferenttomysuit。Manyatimeshehasdenieditinafterdays，butitwaswithasmilingandnotaseriousdenial。Formypart，Iamsureourhandswouldnothavelainsocloselyineachotherifshehadnotbeguntomelttomealready。And，whenallissaid，itisnogreatcontention，since，byherownavowal，shebegantolovemeonthemorrow。

Andyetonthemorrowverylittletookplace。Shecameandcalledmedownasonthedaybefore，upbraidedmeforlingeringatGraden，and，whenshefoundIwasstillobdurate，begantoaskmemoreparticularlyastomyarrival。ItoldherbywhatseriesofaccidentsIhadcometowitnesstheirdisembarkation，andhowIhaddeterminedtoremain，partlyfromtheinterestwhichhadbeenawakenedinmebyNorthmour’sguests，andpartlybecauseofhisownmurderousattack。Astotheformer，IfearIwasdisingenuous，andledhertoregardherselfashavingbeenanattractiontomefromthefirstmomentthatIsawheronthelinks。Itrelievesmyhearttomakethisconfessionevennow，whenmywifeiswithGod，andalreadyknowsallthings，andthehonestyofmypurposeeveninthis；forwhileshelived，althoughitoftenprickedmyconscience，Ihadneverthehardihoodtoundeceiveher。Evenalittlesecret，insuchamarriedlifeasours，isliketheroseleafwhichkepttheprincessfromhersleep。

Fromthisthetalkbranchedintoothersubjects，andItoldhermuchaboutmylonelyandwanderingexistence；she，forherpart，givingear，andsayinglittle。Althoughwespokeverynaturally，andlatterlyontopicsthatmightseemindifferent，wewerebothsweetlyagitated。Toosoonitwastimeforhertogo；andweseparated，asifbymutualconsent，withoutshakinghands，forbothknewthat，betweenus，itwasnoidleceremony。

Thenext，andthatwasthefourthdayofourac

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