‘The hesitation in your voice when you alluded to him; but I have had my suspicions of it before now. And shall I tell you the name of the mother who has left you to bear the burden of her shameful secret?’
‘No, no, Captain Norris,’ cried Lizzie, springing from her chair; ‘you must not say it! I will not hear it! You are mistaken! It is not true! Oh, my dear friend,’ she continued, laying her hand upon his arm, ‘think—think what you are doing. The honour of a whole family is involved in your discovery. Be silent. Keep the secret sacred, as I do, for God’s sake.’
‘And what about the honour of the woman I love?’ he asked tenderly, as he looked into her face; ‘am I not to think of that?’
‘If you love her,’ replied Lizzie, blushing, ‘you must know that her honour is safe. But for the other—so young—so weak—’
‘So unprincipled—so false, you mean!’ said Hugh Norris indignantly. ‘Well, it will come home to her some day, see if it does not.’
‘But never through my means,’ said Lizzie.
‘No, not through you, my angel, but God will take care of His own. You will not always live under this cloud. You would leave it behind you to-morrow, if you would but consent to be my honoured wife.’
‘Not while it hangs over me,’ she whispered.
‘And afterwards—’
‘Ah, Captain Norris, do not ask me! You are my best and truest friend, and the man who would make me happier than any one else in the world. I quite believe that. I say it after calm deliberation, and a careful investigation of your character. But I am not in a position to marry any one, and I never may be. Leave it to the future. If I am ever free, and you are still of the same mind, I will answer the question you ask me to-day.’