“He grasped my hands fiercely as he said this, and looked closely in my face. I felt frightened, and scarcely knew what to say. At last I stammered out,—
“‘You have my best wishes, Monsieur, for your future happiness.’
“‘Best wishes! Is that all? Yes, I see I was a fool to suppose—’ He stopped abruptly, and bending down his stately head to a level with my eyes, riveted his gaze on mine. I could feel his warm breath hotly fan my cheek, and the beams of moonlight showed his broad full chest as it rose and fell with contending passions. Nearer and nearer did he draw me to him, till his head sank upon my shoulder, his beautiful mouth sought mine, and with his arms tightly clasped around my waist, I felt myself irresistibly drawn into an embrace, which, by a strange paralyzation of all power of will, I had no strength to avoid. He drew me forcibly off my chair upon his lap, and there imprinted on my lips a hundred kisses before I could summon strength and determination to break away. I forced myself from his iron grasp and ran to the other side of the room. He followed me, his beautiful face distorted by passion, and falling on his knees, again seized my hands in his, and exclaimed,—‘Pardon me—oh! pardon me, beautiful Genevra! but I love you with a wild, intense passion. Forgive me if I have offended your pride or modesty. Take pity on me, Genevra, and encourage me to hope that my love may meet with a return.’
“‘Monsieur de Serval!’ I cried, at length recovering breath to speak, ‘your conduct is incomprehensible, inexplicable:—what can you mean by it? Is it gentlemanly—is it honorable, thus wantonly to insult the modesty and wound the pride of a defenceless girl?’
“‘By Jupiter, you misconstrue me!” he vehemently exclaimed; and starting to his feet, he again traversed the room with rapid strides. ‘Has my bearing toward you ever been anything save respectful?’
“‘Does not this look marvellously like insulting familiarity?’ I indignantly demanded.
“‘I forgot myself for a moment. And are you so remorseless as to refuse forgiveness for an unintentional fault? Yes, here in this very room, bear me witness, all ye gods and goddesses, all ye saints and angels:—I do swear I love you, and you alone. With a crazy passion have I adored since our first meeting at the countess’;—till now I have stifled it, concealed it as much as possible from your observation; but now, on the eve of departure from Naples, I tell you how I love you, and honorably offer you my heart and hand in marriage. If you will accept me, I will return; otherwise, I presume, I never shall.’
“I had sunk into a chair, overpowered by this strange scene. Again, as if impelled by some invisible influence, he came and put his arms around my waist, and kissed me as before. This time, after what he had just said, I did not resist him.
“‘I have sometimes thought,’ he whispered, ‘from the expression of your eyes, that you loved me. Say, dearest, is it so? Put your beautiful arms around my neck, and say, ‘Dear Rinaldo, I love thee!’
“Unconscious, almost stupefied, I mechanically complied, and whispered after him, ‘Dear Rinaldo, I love thee!’ Then he remained motionless for some minutes, seeming to have lost all recollection in a delirium of sense, his arms tightly locked around my waist, his head resting in my lap. His wild, impassioned manner had in some degree magnetized, and inspired my naturally cold temperament with something like a return of the volcano-like passion which animated him.