No, no. It was not endurable that this proud little lady, who kept her head so high, should find at the last moment, this stain upon her lover's honor.
She dropped her hands and lifted a white face.
"And you—" she began unsteadily, but checked herself and went on in a calmer voice. "And you—after what he has done to you, too—you are going to stand by him—take his name—accept that inheritance—be his son?"
"What else is there for me to do?"
Their eyes met, and hers were hurriedly averted.
"Don't you think," he said, "that that is the only thing to do?"
Again she found it impossible to endure the knowledge of his fixed gaze. She rose once more and stood at the mantel, her forehead leaned against her hand upon it, staring unseeingly down into the fire.
"How can I tell you how fine a thing you are doing—how big—and splendid—when—"
A dark red color flooded his face from neck to forehead; it receded almost violently leaving him whiter than before.
"Not at all! Not in the least!" he said, with all his old impatience. "I could not escape if I would."