Great Britain -- History -- George IV, 1820-1830 -- Fiction; Love stories; Widows -- Fiction
His ironic fury, as yet contained, was so intently pointed at herself
that it could not but be revealing. The reproach of betrayal, then, was
not to the little brown thing of the moor, but to her—to the great white
woman!
Could it be possible? What insanity! And yet what sweetness! He had
known, then, of that infraction in their own Herb-Garden this morning!
Jealousy! There is no jealousy without love ... oh, then, she could
forgive him all!
She rose, drawing a deep, joyous breath, and answered the indictment as
she had taken it to herself.
“And what of it, David?” said she. Trembling upon her lips was almost
that surrender which it is a woman’s pride never to offer. “What of it?”
And she would have added—“A woman cannot always be guardian of the outer
world, however consecrated she may hold certain gardens. But so long as
her heart remains inviolate, so long as that remains consecrate, what
does anything else matter?” But he had quickly caught up her spoken word
with a fresh outburst of frenzy.
“What of it?” he echoed. “You may well ask the question. Is it not a
thing that happens every day? You are right, the man who would live in
the world must close his ears to what is not meant for them; as he must
shut his eyes, no matter how flagrant the treachery, that is spread out
before him. And then, no doubt, he may find the world a vastly pleasant
place. That is the proper doctrine. Oh, and ’tis the natural one, for we
are all made cowards? I myself, when I heard, I ran from the sound. I
threw myself upon the moor that evening. I thrust my fingers into my
ears. I reasoned with myself against what I knew was the truth—that is
what people call reason. And I said what you have said: What of it!”
There was a moment’s silence. Then his voice rang out once more:
“But I could not!” He struck his breast. “I could not. There is
something here even now in this dead heart of mine that must live in me
as long as the spirit is in me. The truth, the truth! I cannot lie to
myself, I cannot believe in another’s lies—I had heard, I must see. I
rose from the ground, it was drenched with dew. It was night. Something
led me, angel or demon. There was fire-light leaping up against the
window. I looked in—I saw. Oh, you woman, turn away your false,
compassionate eyes, for one thing I have sworn that I will never look on
a woman’s treachery again!”
“David,” cried Ellinor again, “remember that I am of your blood!”
“Aye, of my blood. The mockery of fate is complete: betrayed by
friendship, betrayed by love, betrayed by my own blood——!”
“David!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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