“You may ask me why—when I have tried so hard to elude all suspicion, and have succeeded—why have I preserved the dagger—why have I written this? I cannot tell you, Hermione. There is an old saying, ‘Murder will out.’ I feel compelled to write this confession. The idea is strong upon me that if I do not, harm and evil will come to you, and, my wife—life of my life, soul of my soul—we shall meet no more. You may never read this; it may be lost, it may be undiscovered, but if ever it comes to light, in reading it, judge me mercifully, for I was mad when I took the life of the woman I had sworn to love and cherish. I pray God in His mercy to pardon me, and I pray Him to keep from all men a love so terrible as mine.”
And there the manuscript ended. Lord Lorriston laid it down, and, kneeling by the side of his dead daughter, he wept aloud. It was a terrible story—a story of love so mighty in its wild passion it had blighted their lives.
Kenelm Eyrle listened to the deep sobs of the strong man, then he laid his hand reverently in the folded hands of the dead lady.
“It seems to me,” he said, “that she was born the victim. Clarice betrayed her, and Ronald’s love has brought her nothing but misery.”
Then they discussed the story of her self-sacrifice. Kenelm understood it. He told Lord Lorriston how they had opened the box to find the document, and had found there the dagger.
“This confession must have been lying near it, and Hermione took it without my knowing. She had read it and declared herself guilty in order to save him.”
“She loved him well, poor child,” said Lord Lorriston.
“She would have died for him,” continued Kenelm. “She would have gone, for his sake, to prison, and from the prison to the scaffold, if by doing so she might have saved him.”
“She loved him dearly. His death has broken her heart,” said Lord Lorriston. “In her case death is far more merciful than life—she would have been wretched, knowing his guilt, and wretched, knowing his death. It is better as it is.”
Even the father who had loved her so dearly kissed her face and murmured the same words, “It is better as it is.”