‘I know why you have sent for me,’ began Baldassare, very gently. ‘May I try to tell you? It may be a little easier.’
Maria did not attempt to speak for a few moments, and he waited.
‘No,’ she said at last, quite steadily. ‘You could not tell me just what I have to say to you. I asked you to come because you have been so very brave, so very generous——’
She choked a little, but recovered herself quickly.
‘It is only just that I should tell you so before we say good-bye,’ she went on. ‘I knew I could trust you—but oh, I did not know how much!’
‘I have only tried to do my duty,’ he answered.
‘You have done it like the brave man you are,’ said Maria.
‘Please——’ he spoke to interrupt her.
‘Yes,’ she went on, not heeding him. ‘We may not meet again, we two, alone like this. One of us may die before that is possible. So I shall say all that is in my thoughts, if I can. You most know all, you must understand all, even if it hurts very much. My husband is going to take me back altogether; he has forgiven me; he asks me to be his wife again. Can I refuse?’
She had not meant to put the question to him, and he knew that she expected no answer. Her tone showed that. But he would not let her think that in his heart he rebelled against the knife.