It was reached at last, however, and as De Courcelles sank into one of the familiar chairs in the sitting-room, he felt like a man who has been delivered from the very jaws of death to be suddenly transported into paradise.
‘But you must not rest here, Henri,’ whispered Lizzie, as she quickly closed all the jalousies. ‘Mr Courtney or one of the hands might enter at any moment. There would be continual risk of discovery.’
‘Where, then?’ he demanded, in the same tone.
‘In my dear father’s bedroom. It has never been opened since his death, and you are not likely to be disturbed there. You know what these silly, superstitious natives are. They would not enter a chamber where a death has occurred, to save their lives. They would be fearful of encountering my dear father’s wraith. You see now my object in dressing you up in his cloak and hat. If any of our negroes had seen you, he would probably have run shrieking to his hut, to spread the report that the Doctor’s ghost was walking about Beauregard. You must remember to keep up the idea, should any unforeseen risk occur. But here, for a few days at least, I believe you will be safe,’ continued Lizzie, as she unlocked the door of her late father’s apartment, ‘until I can get you away from the island. You will have to be my prisoner,’ she added playfully; ‘and I shall lock you in, and bring you your meals at the stated times. But keep the jalousies bolted inside night and day, and try to do with as little light as possible, to avoid attracting attention. You will find all my dear father’s wardrobe in the cupboard here. Use it as you think best, and try and be contented under the restraint, and thankful (as I am) that Heaven has spared your life to you.’
He turned round as he crossed the threshold, and sank on his knees before her.
‘You have forbidden me to speak of love,’ he ejaculated, ‘but I must say something to express my gratitude. You have indeed heaped coals of fire on my head! You have done what no other living creature, male or female, would have done; you have risked your life and safety for me, who have treated you worse than any one else. Let me say Heaven bless you for it, Lizzie. I feel if there is a hell beyond the one we suffer here, that mine will be to remember always the terrible mistake I made in allowing a woman’s personal beauty to blind me to the virtues of the friend whom I now feel I have loved and honoured above all the world.’
He took her hand and kissed it as he spoke, and Lizzie was not ashamed to let her tears fall freely on them both.
‘I am glad now, Henri,’ she uttered falteringly, ‘and I shall be glad in the days to come to think over the words you have just said, and to remember that you knew me for your true friend. There are different kinds of love from the one we once thought we felt for each other—and perhaps better ones—and something of the sort I shall never cease to feel for you. And if you think you owe me gratitude, Henri—if you would repay me let it be by abandoning all ideas of revenge and murder for the future. Don’t let me have the terrible self-reproach that I have wasted my affection on one so utterly unworthy of it.’
‘I have taken a different oath, Lizzie, but I will rescind it, for your sake, and here on my knees I swear to you that if I am spared to escape the gallows, I will abandon all ideas of revenge in the future. After all, Maraquita is but a false woman, not worthy of a man’s revenge. There are dozens such: the world is peopled with them.’
‘She is the woman you loved, Henri,’ replied Lizzie gravely, ‘and therefore she is the woman you should always be most lenient to. But she has passed out of your world, and the kindest thing you can do for her and yourself is to forget her. But you must not talk of such exciting topics to-night. It may be some time before you shake off the effects of the poisonous vapours you have inhaled. Go to rest now, and sleep without fear. I will guarantee that no one shall disturb your slumbers.’