“Stay!” she said, suddenly rising and standing before him, her hands still clasped, a look of anguish in her eyes as she lifted them to his, her voice tremulous with emotion, not from any faltering of purpose. “I need no further time for deliberation. I have thought and prayed over this matter, and my duty has been made very clear to me. Right and justice must be done, at whatever cost to me or to—”
The last word was lost in a bitter, choking sob.
Mr. Alden turned abruptly on his heel and left the house.
CHAPTER VIII.
MRS. ALDEN AN ABETTOR.
“A settled virtue
Makes itself a judge: and satisfied within,
Smiles at that common enemy, the world.”—Dryden.
“What is it, Nathan?”