“Can I help doing so, dear one?” he asked. “I should be a brute, unworthy of the name of man, if I did not care for you and protect you forever.”
She sighed, and he thought he had never seen her look so lovely before.
“At a late hour last night the detective made an appointment to see me at seven o’clock this morning,” he went on. “I cannot rest in consequence, and shall not see you again until breakfast time.”
“One more kiss, Harold,” she sighed.
“Only one? A hundred, darling, if you want them!”
He looked back as he was leaving the room—the last time his eyes rested upon her in life!
Poor Theresa!
CHAPTER XXV.
A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
Annesley went to the smoking-room, and read the morning news until the detective came in. Mr. Paul Asbury was punctual to the moment, and there was a gleam of triumph in his eyes that spoke of success and self-confidence.