“What would you do to any one who should come between you and Laurier?”
The girl’s eyes flashed, she ground her white teeth together viciously, crying:
“I should hate them, I should want to murder them!”
Noel’s face grew livid, but he looked around at her fixedly, crying:
“Then you will want to murder me, for I am a barrier between you and Laurier that cannot be removed. I am your lawful husband, beautiful Cora!”
“You are mad!” she cried, in alarm. “Let us turn back instantly. See, the snow is beginning to fall!”
Without heeding her command, Ernest Noel drove on through the gathering storm, replying hoarsely:
“I am not mad, Cora, I am telling you the truth. Do you remember the private theatricals we took part in last week for the benefit of that little church? You were the bride, I was the bridegroom, and it was a lawful marriage, for I made private arrangements to have it so, securing a license and a minister. You are my wife as fast as the law can make you. Now, what have you to say?”
CHAPTER XXII.
A DESPERATE DEED.
Cora Ellyson sat speechless by the side of Ernest Noel for several minutes as the sleigh rushed on through the whirling snowflakes.