“No, no, he is waiting,” wailed Hester, clinging to her; “he is always watching me.”
“Hester,” said Bessy, sternly, “who is that man?”
“I dare not tell you,” whispered Hester, with a shudder.
“As an old friend of your husband, I insist upon your telling me. This is cowardly weakness.”
“Yes, yes, I know,” wailed Hester, in her helpless misery; “but for his sake, I dare not tell you.”
“And you have not told your husband?”
“No.”
“Has he asked you?”
“Yes—yes,” sobbed Hester. “Oh, if I could but die!”
“Shame on you,” said Bessy. “Hester, I loved your husband very dearly once, and thought it all past now; and I have tried to love you for his sake. I will not be a partner in this mystery. To-morrow morning he shall hear all I know.”