Something told him that he could never love her after the quiet fashion of a brother. His heart had gone out to her in the first strong, deep passion of his manhood, and he could no more control it than he could control the wind that blew.
All this he thought over as she lay there in the abandonment of her grief, and he knew that she had judged rightly; they must be separated, or their sorrow would wear them both out in a little while. He must go back to Wycliffe and take up his duties there, and she must choose for herself what she would do here.
Her sobs grew less violent after awhile, and at last he said, with an effort to speak calmly:
“Editha, I will do whatever you say; but it seems to me as if all the world from this hour will be palled in deepest gloom—as if nothing could ever look bright or beautiful again. I came back to you so joyous—so proud of the position that was mine to offer you; and now every hope is crushed. Oh, what shall we do? How are we to bear it?” he groaned.
“You must go away—back to England,” she said, in a shaking, weakened voice. “I cannot bear it if you stay here; neither can I go to Wycliffe. Don’t you see we could not bear that? We must live apart, and strive to forget if we can. Perhaps when long years have passed, if we live, and we have not seen each other, we may be able to love each other less.”
“God forbid! And yet the sin of it will crush me,” he cried, despairingly. “I cannot forget—I do not want to forget—I will not. Oh, Editha, why are we permitted to be tortured thus?”
“To teach us, perhaps, that earthly idols are but dust, and God is supreme. He has said we must put no other in His place,” she whispered, with a solemnity that awed him.
“Have you loved me like that?” he asked.
“Hush!” she answered, with a shiver, and laying her fingers gently on his lips. “I must not tell you how much. We have no right to talk of that any more. I want you to bid me good-by now, Earle, and let it be a long, long good-by, too.”
“My darling, I cannot; it is too, too cruel,” he moaned; and, forgetting everything but his deep and mighty love for her, he gathered her into his arms and clasped her with such rebellious strength that she was powerless in his embrace.