The earl eagerly extended his hand.
"Lord Vivianne!" he cried, "what a stranger you are! I am heartily glad to meet you again."
He did not understand why that great, gasping sigh of relief came from the wretched lips.
"I have thought of you," continued the earl. "Of course you heard the story of my terrible trouble?"
More ghastly still grew the white face.
"Yes, I heard of it; who did not?"
"Poor child!" sighed the earl; "It was a terrible blow to us; the very night before her wedding-day, too."
Ah! the night before the wedding-day! He was not likely to forget that. He saw it all again—the beautiful, defiant face; the wedding costume; the long, sharp knife; the bare, white breast. Ah! merciful God, was he never to forget! He groaned aloud, then saw the earl looking at him in wonder.
"You did not know, Lord Linleigh," he said, "that I loved your daughter. If I had gone to Linleigh again in August, it would have been to ask her to be my wife."
The earl held out his hand in silent sympathy.