ld make up to
her.

When we met at breakfast she took no notice of what had passed; nor
could I discover any difference in her manner to me, beyond her
heightened colour when we exchanged the morning greeting as if we had
not met before. But she carefully avoided any opportunity of our being
left alone, though I could sometimes detect her eyes glancing towards
me when she thought she was not observed, and more particularly in the
direction of the part of which she had obtained a first glance that
morning.

Having gone so far with her, I was determined to try at least whether I
could not get a little farther. So in the evening when a dance was got
up I asked her to waltz with me in such an open manner that she could
not easily make any excuse for not doing so. As soon as I got an
opportunity of saying a few words unheard, I whispered to her, "Come,
come, Laura, this is too bad of you to be offended at me for doing the
very same thing I saw you doing in the same place yesterday morning."

In an instant her face turned perfectly scarlet and then as pale as
death, and I am certain she would have fallen to the ground had I not
supported her. In a few seconds she recovered herself a little and in a
suppressed but earnest tone she whispered, "Hush, hush for God's sake."

I led her out of the room into the conservatory and pressed her to sit
down on a bench. She objected to this, saying, "Not here; not here,"
pointing at the same time to the door at the opposite side leading into
a rosary which was not overlooked from the drawing room. I there placed
her on a seat and sat down beside her and waited for a few minutes,
till her emotion should subside.

Finding that she was still quite overcome and remained silent,
trembling, and evidently greatly agitated by the discovery that her
secret was known to me, I said to her, "Laura, dearest, you need not be
in the least alarmed, your secret is quite safe with me, and nothing
shall ever induce me to say a word to anyone regarding it, nor need you
fear, my own darling, that I shall take advantage of it to make you do
anything you don't like."

She made no reply but at the same time she offered no resistance to the
caresses I ventured to bestow upon her, and I even fancied that the
warm kiss I imprinted on her lips was faintly returned. I went on to
say, "I cannot tell you what bliss it would give me if you would only
allow this little charmer to take his proper place, instead of t