"Thank you," he murmured in tones scarcely audible. "I have your answer!"—he paused and looked at her curiously—"And you love him?"
The girl hesitated for just an instant, her blue eyes flashed and she drew her strong, young figure erect:
"Yes! And I'm proud of it. His love has lifted me into the sunlight and made the world glorious—made me love everything in it—every tree and every flower and every living thing that moves and feels——-"
She stopped abruptly and lifted her flushed face to his:
"I've learned to love you, in spite of your harshness to me—I love you because you are his father!"
He turned from her and then wheeled suddenly, his face drawn with pain:
"Now, I must be frank, I must be brutal. I must know the truth without reservation—how far has this thing gone?"
"Marriage is impossible! I told you that and you must have realized it."
Her head drooped: