Saying this, he again raised Miss Anney's hands to his lips and imprinted upon them a long imploring kiss and she leaned towards him so that her hair lightly brushed his forehead, and quietly replied:
"I consent and believe with my whole soul--but this does not depend upon me alone."
"Only upon you, lady," exclaimed Ladislaus.
And believing that Miss Anney had his mother in mind, he began to say with a brightened face and deep joy in his voice:
"My mother desires my happiness above all things and I assure you that she will come here with me to beg of you; and with me she will thank you for this great, this ineffable boon, and in the meantime I on my knees thank--"
He wanted to drop on his knees before her and embrace her limbs with his arms, but she began to restrain him and say with feverish haste:
"No, no. Do not kneel, sir,--you must first hear me. I consent, but I must confess things upon which everything depends. Please calm yourself."
Ladislaus rose, again sat beside her and said, with anxious surprise:
"I listen, my dearest lady."
"And I must compose myself a little," replied Miss Anney.