"What can I do?" said Rachel, faintly.
"Forgive him."
"Forgiveness won't help him. The only forgiveness he would care for is to marry me."
"Of course. It is the only way you can forgive him."
Rachel turned away. Her stubborn, quivering face showed a frightful conflict.
The Bishop watched her.
"My child," he said, gently, "we all say we follow Christ, but most of us only follow him and his cross—part of the way. When we are told that our Lord bore our sins, and was wounded for our transgressions, I suppose that meant that He felt as if they were His own in His great love for us. But when you shrink from bearing your fellow-creature's transgressions, it shows that your love is small."
Rachel was silent.
"If you really love him you will forgive him."
Rachel clinched and unclinched her hands.