He looked blankly at her for a moment in silence, then laid hold of her violently by both arms, gazed closely into her face, and said in a low, trembling voice—
"Helena, if you knew what it is to live for months under the shadow of a sin—an awful sin—an unpardonable sin—surely you wouldn't ... But why don't you speak? Speak, girl, speak!"
Then Helena looked fearlessly back into his excited face and said—
"Gordon, do you remember that you came to my room in the Citadel before you went in to that ... that fatal interview?"
"Yes, yes! How can I forget it?"
"Do you also remember what I told you then, that whatever happened that day I could never leave my father?"
"Yes, certainly, yes."
"Do you remember that you asked me why, and I said I couldn't tell you because it was a secret—somebody else's secret?"
"Well?" His pulses were beating violently; she could feel them throbbing on her arms.
"Gordon," she said, "do you know what that secret was? I can tell you now. Do you know what it was?"