They went down the stairs in silence, and reached the fernery; then he stopped short.
"Will you not wait a moment here?" he said.
Stella shook her head.
"It must be late," she said.
"A moment only," he said. "Let me feel that I have you to myself for a moment before you go—you have belonged to others until now."
"No, no," she said—"I must go."
And she moved on; but he put out his hand, and stopped her.
"Stella!"
She turned, and looked at him most piteously; but he saw only her loveliness before him like a flower.
"Stella," he repeated, and he drew her nearer, "I must speak—I must tell you—I love you!"