"Is my love so distasteful to you, then, that you cannot bear to hear me speak of it?" he said, a little reproachfully.
"No, no," she answered; "it is not that at all. It is that—— But there, I cannot, I must not hear you any further. Please do not say any more about it; I beg of you to forget that you have ever told me of it."
"But I must say more," cried Browne. "I love you, and I cannot and will not live without you. I believe that you love me, Katherine; upon my honour I do. If so, why should you be so cruel to me? Will you answer me one question, honestly and straight-forwardly?"
"What is it?"
"Will you be my wife?"
"I cannot. It is impossible," she cried, this time as if her heart were breaking. "It is useless to say more. Such a thing could never be."
"But if you love me, it both can and shall be," replied Browne. "If you love me, there is nothing that can separate us."
"There is everything. You do not know how impossible it is."
"If there is a difficulty I will remove it. It shall cease to exist. Come, Katherine, tell me that you love me."
She did not reply.