"'Thank God,' he murmured; 'she is asleep at last!'
"This child-like gratitude touched me more than the protest of a thousand clergymen could have done. How purely and dearly the old man loved me, and how unworthy I was! Great heavens, why did I ever marry him, and thus make deception almost a duty? There is one excuse for me—I did not then know what love meant.
"Toward morning, Mr. Dennison went into his own room; then I breathed again; true, he was very near, and by changing my position I could see his white head and grand old face upon the pillow, where he had fallen asleep with a smile of thankfulness upon his lips. After all, he is generous, good, and rich in intelligence. Why is it that love will not go with the reason?
"They would have kept me in bed the next day, but I resisted. The minutes were too precious for such waste. I went down-stairs, feeling like a criminal and looking like one, Cora said, but the two gentlemen regarded my sadness and my pallor as a proof of illness, and would scarcely allow me to speak, such was their anxiety for my welfare. So I sat in my easy-chair languid and still, listening to them as they conversed, and yet gathering but few of their words into my mind. All at once a blow seemed to have struck me. It was only a word, but that one word took away my breath. Mr. Dennison had been asking some question, and Lawrence answered,—
"'To-morrow.'
"'Not so soon as that. Indeed, my friend, we cannot spare you,' said Mr. Dennison.
"I held my breath. It seemed as if my heart would never beat again. A slow faintness crept over me while Lawrence answered,—
"'But I must: the business which brings me South is too important for delay. Already I have spent nearly a month that may cost me dear.'
"His eyes turned full upon mine. They were dark and heavy with sadness. God forgive me if mine expressed too much!
"'But my wife will never consent to this. Speak, dear, and give him one of your pretty commands. It must be important business indeed, which can win him to disobey you.'