he did
not know it, for he had hardly eaten food that day, and was nearly
exhausted with the unaccustomed amount of hard exercise which he had
taken. He was moreover thoroughly wet through, and heavy laden with
the mud of the road. It was no wonder that Lady Desmond had said to
herself that he looked like a whipped dog.

"That must be as Lady Clara shall decide," he said at last, barely
uttering the words through his chattering teeth.

"It must be as I say," said the countess firmly; "whether by her
decision or by yours--or if necessary by mine. But if your feelings
are, as I take them to be, those of a man of honour, you will not
leave it to me or to her. What! now that you have the world to
struggle with, would you seek to drag her down into the struggle?"

"Our union was to be for better or worse. I would have given her all
the better, and--"

"Yes; and had there been a union she would have bravely borne her
part in sharing the worst. But who ought to be so thankful as you
that this truth has broken upon you before you had clogged yourself
with a wife of high birth but without fortune? Alone, a man educated
as you are, with your talents, may face the world without fearing
anything. But how could you make your way now if my daughter were
your wife? When you think of it, Mr. Fitzgerald, you will cease to
wish for it."

"Never; I have given my heart to your daughter, and I cannot take
back the gift. She has accepted it, and she cannot return it."

"And what would you have her do?" Lady Desmond asked, with anger and
almost passion in her voice.

"Wait--as I must wait," said Herbert. "That will be her duty, as I
believe it will also be her wish."

"Yes, and wear out her young heart here in solitude for the next
ten years, and then learn when her beauty and her youth are gone--.
But no, Mr. Fitzgerald; I will not allow myself to contemplate
such a prospect either for her or for you. Under the lamentable
circumstances which you have now told me it is imperative that this
match should be broken off. Ask your own mother and hear what she
will say. And if you are a man you will not throw upon my poor child
the hard task of declaring that it must be so. You, by your calamity,
are unable to perform your contract with her; and it is for you to
announce that that contract is therefore over."

Herbert in his present state was unable to argue with Lady Desmond.
He had in his brain, and mind, and heart, and soul--at least