"I give you my word that Fräulein von Walde will be here in one moment!" he repeated, as she again attempted to reach the door. "Is my presence, then, so disagreeable to you?" he added more gently, with a tinge of sadness.
"Most assuredly it is," Elizabeth replied coldly and decidedly; "if you will remember your late conduct towards me, you will know that to be left one moment alone with you must be odious to me."
"How stern and implacable that sounds! Must, then, my punishment for my thoughtless jest be so severe?"
"I advise you, in future, to be more prudent in your choice of those with whom you wish to jest."
"Good Heavens! I see now that it was a mistake; I regret my impetuosity, but how could I dream——"
"That any respect was due to me?" Elizabeth interrupted him, with flashing eyes.
"No, no!——, I never doubted that!—Heavens! how angry you can be! But I could not possibly know that you possessed the right to claim more, far more, than mere respect."
Elizabeth looked at him inquiringly; she evidently did not understand him.
"Can I do more than sue on my knees for pardon?" he continued.
"It shall be granted upon condition that you leave me instantly."