Fedora—his false wife—lived! She had parted him forever from his beautiful, dark-eyed love.
"We have parted—I have loved thee;
But for me all hope is o'er!
We have parted, and forever;
I must dream of thee no more!"
He believed that Kathleen was going to marry Teddy Darrell, as Alpine hinted, but he was not so sure that it was for love. He remembered, with a thrill of blended rapture and despair, how he had caught Kathleen to his heart this morning, and how she had lain passive in his arms at first.
"She did not repulse me at first," he thought. "Her heart throbbed wildly against mine, and she lay yielding and passive in the utter abandon of a pure woman who truly loves. Then she remembered all at once, and withdrew herself from me in stinging scorn."
He groaned bitterly at the memory of her cruel words.
"My poor, proud darling! if she would but have listened to me, she might have pitied and forgiven me," he thought, with the fluctuating hopes of a lover's heart. He loved Kathleen so dearly that he could not remain angry with her, although he tried to do so. In his heart he made excuses for her. She was so young, so inexperienced, and there was no telling what lies Fedora had told the young girl.
"I will punish that fiend, at least," he cried, starting to his feet. "No more squeamishness shall deter me from seeking a divorce, and I shall do so at once. Who knows but that Kathleen may pity me, may relent, when she learns all that I have suffered?"
[CHAPTER XXXVIII.]
"I HAVE COME FOR MY DIAMONDS," KATHLEEN SAID TO THE JEWELER.