“You will not do that!”
“My duty compels me to; and whatever might come, I have always done my duty. For me, in this horrible affair, there is the cause of the innocent and of the guilty, and I place myself on the side of the innocent.”
“I can prove to you that it was an aberration of vision—”
“You will prove it to the judge; the law will appreciate it.”
He rose brusquely. She put her hand on the bellcord. They looked at each other for a moment, and what their lips did not express their eyes said:
“I do not fear you; my precautions are taken.”
“That bell will not save you.”
At last he spoke in a hoarse and quivering voice:
“To you the responsibility of whatever happens Madame.”
“I accept it before God,” she said, with a calm firmness. “Defend yourself.”