"No, no. You have been very candid and very loyal," she said, quickly. "But a matter of so much importance should not be decided in an hour."
"But we have known each other for years, and did we not understand each other from the very beginning?"
"Perhaps we did," she answered, with downcast eyes.
"And everyone else understood," he went on. "It is true little or nothing was said at the beginning, for you—you—were—were—very young. But I was of full age, and when the proper time came I wrote plainly to you."
"Yes, I know."
"And you were not surprised? You expected I should write in that way, did you not?"
"Yes, I think I did."
"And yet now you talk of our understanding each other better. Oh, Madeline! Let me assure you that no other woman has crossed my path, that no other face has caught my fancy, that my heart has been true to you from the first, and I am prepared now to devote the rest of my life to you."
"But is there not another side to the question?" she asked, seriously. "You said when first we met I was very young. But I have grown to be a woman now."
"That is true, by Jove!" he answered, with a harsh laugh, "and a very lovely woman, too. But that only adds force and weight to what I have already said. If you had grown to be ill-favoured or plain, you might hesitate, thinking my heart would change. But no, Madeline, I am not of the fickle sort. If you were not half so handsome as you are I should still come to you eager, devoted, and determined."