CHAPTER VII
[HUSBAND AND WIFE]
"Remain with me, Denise,' said my lady, as we walked back to the house. 'I am weak, and may need you."
"Then, for the first time, I noticed what gave me hope. She took her baby boy in her arms, and pressed him passionately to her bosom, murmuring:
"'I have only you--I have only you!'
"It was not that hitherto she had been wanting in tenderness, but that in my presence she had never so yearningly displayed it. It gladdened me also to think that her child was a comfort to her in this grave crisis.
"But the hope I indulged in was doomed to disappointment. In the evening my lady bade me ascertain whether her husband was in the villa.
"I went to him, and made the inquiry.
"'Tell my wife,' he said, in a gentle tone, 'that I am ready to wait upon her whenever she desires it.'
"It was late in the night when my lady called me to assist her to dress. I did so, wondering at the strange proceeding. She chose her prettiest dress, one which she had worn in her maiden days. She wore no ornaments, or flowers or ribbons of any colour. Simply a white dress, with white lace for her head and shoulders.