There was a flash in her eye which reminded him of former years.
"You cannot prevent me. You have no right to keep me from my husband."
"He is not your husband, Gerty. You do not know but he may have married again."
She gasped for breath, throwing up her hands in horror. "I never thought that possible," she murmured faintly.
He left her for a moment; and then returned to find her making a great effort to control herself.
"The carriage has come," he said, "and I am prepared to accompany you to the poor sufferer as I would to any distressed countryman; but, Gerty, for the sake of the respect you owe yourself, do not allow him to suspect that your affection for him has survived his neglect."
She bowed her head without speaking; and they went to the carriage, the boy who brought the letter mounting on the box with the driver.
Not a word was said during the drive. Both were too absorbed for speech; and at length the messenger called out:
"This is the house."
Gertrude jumped from the carriage and gave a searching glance around the locality, as if to judge by it, what Paul's associations had been. Taking Edward's arm, she followed the lad up a flight of creaking stairs. The door of the room was ajar; and as they stopped a moment, Gerty heard a feeble voice ask eagerly: