But she drove away the thought as absurd.
“Now,” she cried; “I am weary with waiting. You have devised a way of ending this terrible suspense?”
“I have,” he said, taking her hands in his; and she resigned them without hesitation.
“Pray tell me then, at once. What will you do?”
“Make you my darling little wife,” he whispered passionately; and he clasped her tightly in his arms.
Chapter Thirty Seven.
For a few moments Kate Wilton was passive in Garstang’s arms. The suddenness of the act—the surprise, stunned her, and his words seemed so impossible that she could not believe her hearing. Then horror and revulsion came; she knew it was the truth, and like a flash it dawned upon her that all that had gone before, the chivalrous behaviour, the benevolence and paternal tenderness, were the clever acting of an unscrupulous man—the outcome of plans and schemes, and for what? To obtain possession of the great fortune by which she felt more than ever that she was cursed.
With a faint cry of horror she thrust him back with both hands upon his breast, and struggled wildly to escape from his embrace.