"They saw not the meaning of the cunning words; I, cooler and more collected, with no blinding, passionate thrills in my pulses, was gifted with a keener insight. I made one slight, impotent attempt to open their eyes, but the manner in which I was met warned me not to repeat it if I wished to be of service to them, and to avert a calamity. He was Avicia's father, and, as such, incapable in their judgment of a mean or sordid act.
"Now for the trap I set, into which I was the only one to fall. I had really, with the best wisdom at my command, reviewed and studied the lamentable position of affairs, and it appeared to me a necessity that one of the brothers must suffer. If he suffered without guilt upon his soul, it would be the be-all and the end-all of the torture. His suffering would be his own, and would not bring misery upon others. And in the light of the inevitable, his honourable feelings and the promptings of conscience--to which I believed both Silvain and Kristel to be amenable--would assist him to bear it in silence, however bitter and poignant it might be. I decided that Silvain was the better able, upon moral grounds, to bear the suffering, although, had it devolved upon me to deliberately contribute to the happiness of only one of the brothers, my choice would have fallen upon Silvain. My scheme was to endeavour to take him from this scene of silent, agonising contention of love. Upon his return he would find matters so far advanced that he would be deterred from advancing another step towards Avicia.
"I opened the matter privately with Silvain.
"'I am called away from you,' I said to him, 'and shall be absent for three or four months.'
"'I am sorry to hear it,' said Silvain. 'Is it imperative?'
"'Yes,' I said, 'it is imperative.'
"'I do not ask you upon what errand you are compelled to leave us,' said Silvain, 'because if the matter were not as private as it is urgent, I think you would confide in me voluntarily. Unhappily,' he added, with a sigh, 'we all have secrets which it is incumbent upon us to conceal even from our dearest friends.'
"I understood the allusion, and my heart bled for him.
"'Silvain,' I said, 'I have grown so accustomed to your society, and if you will forgive me the confession, have grown so to love you, that I shall feel inexpressibly lonely and unhappy without you. Why not accompany me?'
"There was a sad surprise in his eyes as he answered,