He seated himself beside her, and then answered: “You ask me why I am here. I am here because I love you, have faith in you, and hope to win you as my wife.” “As your slave, you mean! How dare you!” exclaimed the marriage renouncer, with burning cheeks and flashing eyes. “No, no, Britomarte; but as my wife and equal; and if not so, as my wife and liege lady, for if one must serve, let it be the stronger. I have said all this to you before.” “So this, then, is the ‘distant duty’ you were to go upon when you were ordained and went from home,” said Miss Conyers, sarcastically. “Yes.” “And Erminie never explained! It was not like her to be so reserved with me.” “My sister was in honor bound to keep my secret.” “But why should your action in this matter have been kept a secret? It seems to me that honorable actions need never be kept so.” “That is a mistake. Sometimes they must. My intended voyage was kept a secret because I thought, if you discovered that I was to be your fellow-voyager, you would never embark on this enterprise.” “That I never should have done.” “And your valuable services would have been lost to the mission,” said Justin, with a slight smile. Her eyes flashed fire. She came down upon him with a trenchant scorn in her next words. “We sailed on Tuesday. This is Saturday, the fifth day out, and we have not seen anything of you until this morning! Pray, do you consider it conduct worthy of a gentleman to come secretly upon the ship, and remain in hiding like a fugitive convict for four or five days?” “I beg your pardon,” said Justin, good-humoredly, “but you are wrong in your premises. I did not come secretly on the ship. I engaged myself as clerk to the captain, who is an old friend of our family. The first day, it is true, I kept out of sight, lest, if you happened to see me, you might take flight and go back on the pilot-boat.” “I verily believe that I should have done so.” “Certainly you would; and, as I said before, your valuable services would have been lost to the mission. To obviate such a misfortune, I have kept out of your sight, and in the captain’s office, where I occupied myself in arranging his books and papers until the pilot went back. After which, as it was quite impossible you should swim back to the mainland, I did not mind showing myself at the table. But, unfortunately, you were seasick, and I could not see you until this morning.” “But was it right, was it manly, was it honorable, to follow me in this manner?” scornfully questioned the man-hater.