"Miss Lesly," said he, coldly and peculiarly, "we have never met before."
She looked up to read his meaning. His countenance was impenetrable, except that he seemed impatient for reply. There had been a time when her lightest word could move him, and when, to her, his smile was happiness, and his frown brought misery. Yet neither testified now the least emotion. After a pause she replied.
"You need not fear me, but I cannot, if I would, utter a falsehood. What does it signify that we have met."
"The past is forgotten, then?" he enquired.
"It shall be as if it had never been," replied Mabel; "but as you were candid then, be candid now."
"Why?"
"Because you cannot be happy without perfect confidence."
A fleeting smile passed over his lips, but she saw it not.
"You need not fear—no one shall take me under false pretences—I am fallen indeed in your estimation, since you believe that possible."
"No," replied Mabel, "I reverence and admire the beauty of the structure, but I do distrust the foundation on which it is built."