"Mr. Noel, do you really love me above everything else?"
He laughed so heartily that she saw the glitter of his fine teeth.
"Do I love you above everything else? You elusive witch! If you will withdraw the embargo of your request—'not yet, please'—I can soon convince you."
His handsome face, radiantly happy, bent close to hers, but she shrank away from him.
"I am your wife now, but——"
She paused, with a strained look in her eyes.
"Yes; my own precious wife at last, thank God!"
"There is one, only one proof that will convince me I am really first in your heart. Give me at once the box of papers that incriminate my father."
He dropped her hand and rose.
"It is hard, indeed, when a man must refuse the first request of his bride; but, my darling, I cannot dishonor myself. Such baseness would not prove my love; and it would inevitably arouse your contempt."