“Did you hear of that, Earle, and did you believe it?”
“I cannot say that I really believed it, for I cherished a little hope myself all the time; and yet I do not know but that it is a wonder he did not carry off my treasure after all,” he returned, as he folded her closer.
“No, it is not a wonder; if there had been no Earle Wayne in existence, I might have learned to love him, but there was an Earle Wayne in the world, consequently it was an impossibility,” Editha answered, with a twinkling little smile in her deep blue eyes.
Earle bent and touched her red lips with fond thanks for the sweet words they had uttered; but there was an expression of thoughtfulness mingled with anxiety on his brow.
“Mr. Tressalia is a noble man, if he is all you represent him, and it is a sad thing to have all his hopes blighted thus,” he said, in tones of regret.
“Yes; I cannot tell you how sorry I was for him, and I hope I may never see such a look on another face as long as I live as I saw on his when I left him that night,” Editha replied, her eyes filling with tears at the remembrance.
“Editha,” Earle said, suddenly, after a short silence, “you do not believe that I care for your fortune—that I give it even a thought?”
“My sensitive Earle, no,” she answered, with a skeptical smile.
“Then I am going to propose a bold measure. I dread—I almost fear to go away and leave you. I know you will be unhappy with your father’s displeasure constantly following you, and I have a strange presentiment—something tells me that I must not leave you behind. Editha will you marry me and go with me to Europe to-morrow as my wife?”
“Earle!”