“There is something in your face, my darling Charles, something more than the mere happiness of seeing me.”
“You are right,” said Morgan, throwing the boat-chain around a willow and letting the oars float idly beside the boat. Then, taking Amélie in his arms, he said, “You were right, my Amélie. Oh! blind weak beings! It is at the very moment that happiness knocks at our door that we despair and doubt.”
“Oh, speak, speak!” said Amélie, “tell me what has happened.”
“Do you remember, my Amélie, how you answered me the last time we met, when I asked you to fly and spoke to you of your probable repugnance to the step?”
“Yes, I remember, Charles. I said that I was yours, and that, though I felt that repugnance, I would conquer it for your sake.”
“And I replied that I had engagements which would prevent my leaving the country; that I was bound to others, and they to me; that our duty was to one man to whom we owed absolute obedience—the future King of France, Louis XVIII.”
“Yes, you told me that.”
“Well, we are now released from our pledges, Amélie, not only by the King, but by our general, Georges Cadoudal.”
“Oh! my friend, then you will be as other men, only above all others.”
“I shall become a simple exile, Amélie. There is no hope of our being included in the Breton or Vendéan amnesty.”