‘And can you think that any one at Willowmere would turn from you at a time of trouble?’
‘No, no; I do not mean that,’ he answered, and his voice had become feeble, whilst his body swayed slightly, as if he were struggling with diverse emotions. ‘But if it was fair that you should not be bound down to a man who was only going away for a year, it cannot be fair to bind you to one who may have to contend with poverty all his life.’
‘Mr Shield—your father will see that it is not so.’
These names roused him, and his thoughts became collected again. He spoke almost calmly.
‘My father has distributed his fortune amongst his other children. Mr Shield has given me a fortune which I, by my careless folly, have squandered or allowed myself to be cheated out of, as a fool in a betting-ring might have done. I must pay the penalty of my folly alone. Therefore I say, you are free.’
She took the lamp and held it up so that the full light fell on his face. There was a wildness in his eyes, but his lips were compressed, as if he had come to an unalterable resolution.
‘Do you wish me to think myself free?’—the voice steady, although the lips trembled.
‘I wish it!’
A pause; and presently through the silence came the low sad words:
‘Then we must say Good-bye.’