Hamilton did not laugh with her, and another long pause ensued—his jealousy, or, as he to himself termed it, his curiosity, prompted him to make another effort, and he again began: “I told Zedwitz he ought not to resign all hope; that probably the fear of opposition on the part of his family had influenced you.” He stopped, for Hildegarde bit her lip, and seemed agitated. She stood up—sat down—stood up again—and after a moment’s hesitation, said, “I do not know whether I had better tell you all or nothing.” “Tell me all,” cried Hamilton, eagerly; “no one can feel more interested than I do, in everything that concerns you.” “The all is easily told,” she said, slowly—“I have no confession to make. You were right in your supposition—it would be dreadful to me to enter a family unwilling to receive me, for I am very proud, and his mother’s unnecessary haughtiness—rudeness, I may say, to us all at Seon, showed me what I might expect. It was her evident avoidance of me that made me first aware of his intentions.” “So,” Hamilton almost whistled, while an indefinable sensation of actual bodily pain passed through his frame, “so after all you loved him!” “No,” replied Hildegarde, turning away, “but I believe I could in time have loved him.” “No doubt,” said Hamilton, sarcastically, “with his parents’ consent the match would be unexceptionable, and I only wonder you did not, on the chance, make a secret engagement with him. The old Count is killing himself as fast as he can with cold water, and were he once out of the way, I suppose there would be little further difficulty. It is really a pity you were so taken by surprise, that you had not time to think of all this!” Hildegarde’s eyes flashed, and, in a voice almost choked by contending emotions, she exclaimed: “I deserve this insult for trusting you—these insidious expressions of contempt are more than I can bear, and to prevent a repetition of them, I now release you most willingly from your promise of last night, and request you will in future altogether banish me and my faults from your thoughts.”