She colored, and her eyes flashed up to his.
“Yes, I believe it.”
“It is you whom I love, Bess. Now, before God, I have told you the truth.”
He set the sword by the point in the grass, reached out and took her hands.
“I want to do what is best for you,” he said.
“I know—I know—”
“We have come to life’s crossways, dear; give me a night to see my way.”
She looked up fearlessly into his face.
“I trust you,” she said, simply. “I trust you with all I have.”
He led her across the terrace to the house, and into the blue parlor beyond the dining-room. There he left her by the open window with the scent of thyme and woodbine floating in upon the air.