“This is the letter which she brought to me from her mother—the letter written by her mother on her deathbed.”
She unlocked an escritoire, and took out a letter. He glanced at it, and gave a cry of agony.
“O God—my God! And I cursed him—I cursed him and every one belonging to him!”
He threw himself into a chair and bowed his head down to his hands.
“I prayed that evil might fall upon all that pertained to him,” he cried. “My prayer has been heard. The curse has fallen!”
“Is there any tragedy in life like the answering of a prayer? I prayed for your safe return, and—you returned.”
She spoke without bitterness. There was no bitterness in her heart at that moment.
There was a long pause before he looked up.
“And you—you—knowing all—avowed us to be together—you did not keep us apart. You brought this misery upon us!”
“I thought you were safe from such a fate; it was only when we were at the Court that I learned that you loved her; even then I believed that she loved another man. When I said those words of warning to you a week ago, what was your reply tome? 'Do not make me wish that I had never seen you.' Those were your words.”