Chapter XXXIII.
A WICKED WEDDING.
Bid me to leap
From off the battlements of yonder tower
And I will do it.
—Shakespeare.
"Now tell me what you wish me to do, and why you wish me to do it," said the lover, submissively.
"I have already told you what I wish you to do. Why I wish you to do it must remain my secret for the present. You must trust me. Oh, Craven," she added, suddenly changing her tone to one of soft, sorrowful pleading, "why will you not trust me, when I am about to trust you with the happiness of my whole future life?"
"I do trust you! I trust you, as I love you, without limit!" answered the poor fellow, almost weeping.
"Ah, you say you do, yet you refuse to do as I wish you," sorrowfully replied the siren.
"I refuse no longer! I will do anything in the world you wish me to do with joy, if in that way I can have you for my own," he declared, with tearful emphasis.
"I knew you would. You are a dear, good, true heart, and I love you more than life!" she said, giving his arm a squeeze. "Listen, now."