"I would make you my wife at this moment. I would stand beside you in the dock holding your hand. What does it matter to me if all the foolish world think you guilty? I know in my own heart that you are an innocent woman."
"Oh, Giles, Giles!" Then her tears burst forth. She could weep now, and felt the better for that moment of joyful relief. He waited till she grew more composed, and then began to talk of the future.
"This can't go on for ever, Anne," said he decisively; "you must proclaim your innocence."
"I can't," she answered, with hanging head.
"I understand. You wish to protect this man. Oh, do not look so surprised. I mean with the man you fled with—the man Wilson."
"I don't know any one called Wilson."
"Anne!"—he looked at her keenly—"I implore you to tell me the truth. Who is this man you fled with to Gravesend—with whom you went on board the yacht?"
"Is that known?" she asked in a terrified whisper.
"Yes. A great deal is known."
"Portia never told me that," she murmured to herself.