"I lied to you," said Rachel steadily; "now I'm going to tell you the truth. It's wrong, but I shall do it; I shall tell you the whole truth. I married Belhaven to shield my sister from Astry's anger. Astry accused her and Belhaven, she begged me to save her from disgrace. I yielded, I married him; I never loved him, I'm only his wife in name."
"Good God, was there no one in the world to stop you? No one to save you from such madness? Rachel, did you have no thought of me?"
"I thought—" her voice broke a little; she steadied herself again, "John, let it go—I married him."
"I couldn't let it go—Rachel, you knew I loved you?"
She shook her head sadly.
"You knew it, you must have known it!"
"No woman knows it until she's told."
"Is it possible that you married him thinking I didn't? What a fool I was, what a dunce! If I had only written you! But, Rachel, there was the cholera in the camp and I was with the poor fellows all the time. I thought you knew I loved you, I only tormented myself because I wasn't sure of you!"
"We were neither of us sure, it seems; it's our poor, stupid, little tragedy, John; let it go—it's over."
"You love me?" he asked gravely.