"'Declare that it is where your keys often are—in my possession.'
"'You ought to know. And where are my keys, Mr. Moore? Indeed and truly I have lost them again; and Mrs. Gill wants some money, and I have none, except this sixpence.'
"She took the coin out of her apron pocket, and showed it in her palm. I could have trifled with her, but it would not do; life and death were at stake. Mastering at once the sixpence and the hand that held it, I demanded, 'Am I to die without you, or am I to live for you?'
"'Do as you please. Far be it from me to dictate your choice.'
"'You shall tell me with your own lips whether you doom me to exile or call me to hope.'
"'Go; I can bear to be left.'
"'Perhaps I too can bear to leave you. But reply, Shirley, my pupil, my sovereign—reply.'
"'Die without me if you will; live for me if you dare.'
"'I am not afraid of you, my leopardess. I dare live for and with you, from this hour till my death. Now, then, I have you. You are mine. I will never let you go. Wherever my home be, I have chosen my wife. If I stay in England, in England you will stay; if I cross the Atlantic, you will cross it also. Our lives are riveted, our lots intertwined.'
"'And are we equal, then, sir? are we equal at last?'