"I—I don't know what to think—I don't know what to believe," she heard herself saying.
He came a step or two nearer. Her eyes never left his. She tried to look away.
"I want you to me mine forever, Alix. I want you to be my wife. I want you to be with me to the end of my life. I cannot live without you. Do not send me away now. It is too late."
Her knees gave way. She sank slowly to the bench,—and still she looked into his gleaming eyes.
He came to her. She was in his arms. His face was close to hers, his breath was on her cheek....
"No! No!" she almost shrieked, and wrenched herself free. "Not now! Not here! Give me time—give me time to think!"
She had sprung to her feet and was glaring at him with the eyes of an animal at bay. He fell back in astonishment.
"You—you had no right to follow me here," she was crying. "You had no right! This place is sacred. It is sanctuary." Her voice broke. "My mother was born in this room. She died in this room. And I was born here. Go! Please go!"
He controlled himself. He held back those words that were on his tongue, ready to be flung out at her: "Yes, and in this room you behaved like hell with David Strong!" But he checked them in time. He lowered his head.
"Forgive me, Alix," he said abjectly. "I—I did not know. I was wrong to follow you here. I could not help myself. I was mad to see you. Nothing could have stopped me." He looked up, struck by a sudden thought. "You call this sanctuary. It is a sacred place to you. Will you make it sacred to me? Promise here and now, in this sanctuary of yours, to be my wife, and all my life it shall be the most sacred spot on earth."