"I do not know that I should tell you."
"Surely, Lovel, you are bound to tell me."
"She has offered me all her property,—or most of it."
"She is right," said the Countess.
"But she has sworn to me, on the Bible, that she will never be my wife."
"Tush!—it means nothing."
"Ah yes;—it means much. It means all. She never loved me,—not for an instant. That other man has been before me, and she is too firm to be moved."
"Did she say so?"
He was silent for a moment and then replied, "Yes; she did say so."
"Then let her die!" said the Countess.