"Come, come, Gerald, don't give way so. You can rely upon me. I believe, too, that you can trust her. Does she not love you as much as you love her? So don't be despondent. On the contrary, hope, and if, unfortunately—"
"But I tell you that I can not and will not live without her."
There was such evident sincerity in the words, as well as such passionate resolve, that Olivier shuddered, for he knew what an indomitable will his former comrade possessed.
"Gerald," he said, with deep emotion, "again I tell you that you should not despair. Wait here until my return."
"You are right," said Gerald, passing his hand across his fevered brow. "I will wait for you."
Olivier, unwilling to leave his friend in such a despondent mood, continued:
"I forgot to tell you that I informed my uncle of your intentions in regard to Mlle. de Beaumesnil, and they have his unqualified approval. 'Such conduct is worthy of him,' he said to me, so day after to-morrow, Gerald—"
"Day after to-morrow!" exclaimed the young duke, bitterly and impatiently. "I am not thinking of anything so far off. It is as much as I can do to see my way from hour to hour."
"But, Gerald, it is a duty you have to perform."
"Don't talk to me about anything but Herminie. I am utterly indifferent to everything else. What are these so-called duties and obligations to me when I am in torture?"