“That, at least, was a mistake,” said Mrs. Howard, and she told him the circumstances of her taking Fair under her protection. “I am glad my shot missed her heart, then, for I can forgive her and love her still, and since I am now rich and titled she can have no objection to being my wife,” he said, with mingled joy and sarcasm. Mrs. Howard agreed with him. She thought Fair would have a better fate than she deserved, that her husband could not be such a very bad man, after all, since he was willing to forgive her and take her back. She hinted that she would like to hear how it was that he had committed suicide, as rumored, and then reappeared; and the prince, who had suddenly got in a very good humor, was perfectly willing to gratify her curiosity. “I did jump off the wharf into the East River, with the intention of drowning myself, but I was saved by an outward-bound sailing vessel,” he said. “The crew were bound for a port where pirates were said to have buried a great store of golden treasure. I went with them, and we were fortunate enough to find the booty. I took my share and came to Italy, where I assumed the title of my dead father, who was really a prince, although poverty caused him to resign the honor with disgust when he had to work for his daily bread.” She was silent from sheer wonder at his romantic story, and she thought that Fair was very fortunate in having her undesirable husband turn out so well. “I have heard that Lorraine is going to live,” he said to her. “I am glad of that. I did not wish to kill him. It was only my rage at Fair, when I thought that she had gone wrong, that put murder into my heart. Mrs. Howard, will you help me to win my wife? I love her madly still, and I would see her dead at my feet before Lorraine, or any one else, should have her. You may think of getting a divorce for her, but I tell you with the frankness of a desperate man that the only safety my wife can have will be by returning to me.” CHAPTER XXVI. A HUSBAND’S DEMANDS. Mrs. Howard gazed at Prince Gonzaga in wonder and perplexity. “You talk of winning your wife back, when you ought to be repenting the sin you have committed,” she said rebukingly, adding: “Do you forget that the officers of the law have been summoned to commit you for shooting Bayard Lorraine?” He laughed contemptuously, and answered: “I am quite aware of that fact, but I do not fear any inconvenience from it. For one thing, I have been told that Lorraine will not die of his wound; and for another, you will remember that I did not shoot him with malice. The shot was meant for the wife whom I believed to be false, and he flung himself between us, and received the bullet himself. For the rest, I must remind you that the law of Italy, as of all other lands, is not hard on a man who seeks to avenge the honor that had been outraged by a false wife.”