“That is a secret.”
“Of course; you make it one; but if it is one connected with me, then surely I ought to know.”
“It is not time yet for you to know.”
“When will it be time?”
“I can not tell.”
“And you will therefore keep it a secret forever?”
“I hope, my Bicina, that the time will come before long.”
“Yet why do you wait, if you know or even suspect any thing in which I am concerned?”
“I wish to spare you.”
“That is not necessary. Am I so weak that I can not bear to hear any thing which you may have to tell? You forget what a life I have had for two years. Such a life might well prepare me for any thing.”