e ruined your life; it
is wonderful that you do not hate me."
"A true woman never hates the man who has been hard on her," she
answered, smiling sadly.
"If it is any comfort to you to know it, I too am wretched; now it is too
late: I know that my life is spoilt also."
"No; why should that comfort me?" she said, wearily. She leant half back
against the gate--if he could have seen her well in the uncertain light,
he would have been shocked at the worn and haggard face of his beautiful
Vera.
Presently she spoke again.
"I am sorry that I asked you to come--it was not wise, was it, Maurice?
How long must you stop at Kynaston? Can you not go away? We are neither
of us strong enough to bear this--I, I cannot go--but you, _must_ you be
always here?"
"Before God," he answered, earnestly, "I swear to you that I will go away
if it is in my power to go."
"Thank you." Then, with an effort, she roused herself to speak to him:
"But that is not what I wanted to say; let me tell you why I sent for
you. I made a promise, a wretched, stupid thing, to a tiresome little man
I met in London--a Monsieur D'Arblet, a Frenchman; do you know him?"
"D'Arblet! I never heard the name in my life that I know of."
"Really, that seems odd, for I have a little parcel from him to you, and,
strangely enough, he made me promise on my word of honour to give it to
you when no one was near. I did not know how to keep my promise, for,
though we may sometimes meet in public, we are not often likely to meet
alone. I have it here; let me give it to you and have done with the
thing; it has been on my mind."
She drew a small packet from her pocket, and was about to give it to him,
when suddenly his ear caught the sound of an approaching footstep; he
looked nervously round, then he put forth his hand quickly and stopped
her.
"Hush, give me nothing now!" he said, in a low, hurried voice. "To-morrow
we shall meet at Shadonake; if you will go near the Bath some time
during the day after lunch is over, I will join you there, and you can
give it to me; it can be of no possible importance; go in now quickly;
good-night. It is my wife."
She turned and fled swiftly back to the house through the darkness, and
Maurice was left face to face with Helen.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
DENIS WILDE'S LOVE.
A mighty pain to love it is,
And 'tis a pain that love to miss;
But, of all pains, the greatest pain
Is to love, but love in vain.
Cowley
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