"Didst thou imagine I could mean those wicked words?" asked the man tenderly, "'Twas a sudden outburst of temper on hearing--well, well, since thy dainty fingers forbid my speech I will be mute." "See!" cried Elinor, springing to her feet, in the first happiness of her relieved mind. "Now thou shalt hear me laugh and sing all through the day, till thou wilt cry mercy. And mayhap some time thou and I," continued the girl, seating herself beside him, "shall leave this chilly land with all its cares and fly to a fairer country, where cold winds are not known, where sweet flowers do ever bloom, and we will love each other; in that, forget all else, and in forgetting; be forever happy and at rest." "Perchance, some day," murmured the man. "But now, one more caress and thou must to thy bed, or 'twill be light ere thou art in dreamland." She arose, a bright smile upon her face--brighter than he had seen resting there for many a day. "Ah!" she cried, once more throwing her arms about him, "would that I could give to thee the happiness thy words have brought to me." "And so thou canst," replied the man, suddenly. "How may that be done?--tell me quickly!" she exclaimed, playfully, "that I may the sooner begin." "It is, sweet Elinor," said Fawkes, gazing down into her eyes, "that thou wilt always love this man before thee--nay, even," he continued with a depth of feeling in his tone which she had never heard before, "even shouldst thou hear him branded as--as--no matter what manner of things might be uttered against him, thou art always to remember that he at least loved thee with all his heart, and that thou wert his life." He stopped abruptly; the tears which coursed down his stern face seemed strangely out of place. "Ah!" exclaimed the girl, "I cannot bear to have thee doubt me; thou knowest I shall be ever thy loving daughter, even unto the end of this life and in the next." The man was silent for a space; then mastering his emotion, and passing a hand quickly across his face, he said: "Think naught of my words, little one; they were but idle, born of fatigue. Now, once more good night to thee, and a long, sweet sleep." So she left him; but at the door she turned, and Fawkes remembered afterward the bright and happy smile which lay upon her face.