“Yes,” she rejoined with tender mockery; “you either took a great deal for granted or there was one important thing you were willing to leave in doubt. Now take my hands and hold them fast. You know I have suffered something—fears and anxieties because of you—I want to feel safe.”
He did as she bade him and she looked up.
“Now listen, Jack dear. All that I have to give, my love, my closest trust, is yours, and because you said I saved your life, that belongs to me. I think it’s all that matters.”
He was silent for a few moments, overwhelmed by a sense of his responsibility.
“Still,” he urged, “you must understand what you are risking. I should have told you first.”
Muriel released her hands, and her glance was grave.
“Yes; you had better continue, Jack. I suppose we must speak of these things now, and then forget them forever.”
“You know what Jernyngham believed of me. I could not marry you with such a stain on my name; but it will be wiped off in a few more days, and this I owe to you. It was you who insisted that I should clear myself.”
She started.
“Remember that I know nothing, except that you went away.”