“Don’t judge me without having heard——”
“Is it not tempting fortune to come back here to the Werve, where you may so easily be recognized?”
“Oh, don’t make yourself uneasy on that score, my dear. I have taken precautions; and as for breaking my promise, I beg your pardon on my bended knees.”
And he made a gesture as if he would fall on his knees before her.
“Don’t be theatrical,” she said severely, and again retreated some steps from him.
“Heaven forbid! On the boards, to gain a livelihood, it is another thing; but in your presence, before you, Francis, whom I honour and love, I wish to justify my conduct. You may condemn me afterwards, if you like. It was really my intention never to appear before your eyes again. Alas! man is but the puppet of fortune, and I have not been able to swim against the stream. I have had all sorts of adventures—but can I tell you all now?” he added, looking significantly at me. “To tell you the truth, I had reckoned on our being alone.”
“Stay, Leopold,” she said, in answer to an inquiring look I gave her.
“Francis,” resumed Rudolf, with tears in his eyes, “you know you need no protector where I am.”
“I know that, but I will not again expose myself to calumny for your sake. As for your security, Rudolf, I can answer for my cousin Van Zonshoven’s discretion. You may tell him who you are without fear.”
“It is a question of life and death,” he said in French, with a most indifferent shrug of the shoulders, and he again stretched himself at full length on the sofa. “The least indiscretion, and my life will be forfeited. What of that? I run the risk of breaking my neck every day.”