"Your happiness would not last. I am convinced we are utterly unsuited to each other. My answer is 'No' in both our interests."
"Do not say so finally. Take time. Tell me I may ask you again after the lapse of some few months."
"To tell you so would be to deceive. My answer can never change."
"You love some one else, then?"
"The question, my lord, is not fair nor seemly, nor have you the right to put it. Nevertheless I will say there is no foundation for your surmise."
"Then why finally reject me? Give me time to prove to you how thoroughly I am in earnest."
"I have not said I doubted it. But no lapse of years can alter the determination I have come to. I hope, Lord Reginald, that you will be happy, and that amidst the distractions of London you will soon forget me."
"That would be impossible, but it will not be put to the test. I shall not go to London. I believe it is your wish that we should be separated."
"I have no wish on the subject. There is nothing more to be said," replied Hilda, with extreme coldness.
"Yes, there is. Do not think that I abandon my hope. I will remain near you. I will not let you forget me. I leave you in the conviction that some day you will give me a different answer. When the world is less kind to you than hitherto, you may learn to value the love of one devoted being. There is no good-bye between us."