"'Yes.'
"He went into the inner room, and remained there for several minutes, and my lady, with a white and tearless face, waited for his return.
"I thought I heard the sound of kisses in the bedroom, but I could not be sure. There was, however, a tender light in my master's eyes when he came back, a light which showed that his heart was touched.
"'Our child shall remain with you,' he said to my lady, 'if you wish.'
"'I do wish it," she said.
"'I will not take him from you, only that I must sometimes see him.'
"'He shall be brought to you every day.'
"'I am content. Let him grow up to love me or hate me, as the prompting of his nature and your teaching shall direct. From my lips he shall never hear a disparaging word of his mother.'
"'Nor shall he, from my lips, of his father.'
"He bowed to her as he would have bowed to a princess, and said: