At length I asked, trembling, “May I dare to appear before you? But I only come to atone for my transgression.”
To this she made no reply.
“I have abused your confidence,” I continued. “Esteem ought to be my only feeling for the wife of my friend. I have acted dishonourably.”
“So have I,” she added in a whisper.
“Alas! madame, I feel I am too little master of myself;—nay, who could be so in your presence? But, should it cost my life, I will not disturb your peace of mind. My resolution is unalterably taken. I have discovered my innermost heart to your husband.”
“Discovered!” she exclaimed, terrified; “and he—?”
“He at first changed colour.”
“He changed colour?” she faltered.
“But with confidence in you, madame, and with a confidence greater than my virtue, he wished to dissuade me from my intention of leaving Montpellier.”
“Was that your intention, Alamontade?”