He took her hand in his, held it tightly. His breath came in deep halations from a heaving chest.
"Madame," he said in a low intense voice, "you are divine!"
She strove to release her hand.
"Voyons!" she said plaintively, almost tearfully, averting her face. "We met only to-day."
"And to-morrow?—Who knows?"
"No! no! no!" she cried and tore away her hand from his. "Bonsoir, monsieur!" She ran across the room like a startled fawn, bowed herself against the stone fireplace, her face hidden. He saw her shoulders heave.
He followed her, stood irresolute. She turned on him suddenly.
"Oh, isn't there enough suffering in the world," she cried, "without——?"
"Without love?" He advanced with outstretched arms, laid his hands upon her shoulders. She stiffened, fending him off. "Without love? If to love is to suffer," he said in a voice deeply harmonious, "to love is also to live. And I have waited so long to live! Have waited for you, my twin soul! We met only to-day? What if we have only to-day to live——?"
She leaned back, away from him, yet held in his grasp.