Gilberte, in her despair, was nearly flinging her arms round her neck and saying:
“Stay here, please.... Be to me the mother whom I have lost.... I will love you like a daughter....”
But Guillaume prevented her:
“Why humiliate yourself, Gilberte?... If my mother will not consent....”
“Well, are we not free?”
“No, Guillaume,” she answered, firmly, “I will not marry you except with your mother’s entire approval.”
He turned pale and murmured:
“But ... we shall see each other....”
“We shall not see each other. We can only see each other by stealth; and that is unworthy of us.”