Which Contains a Surprise.
“Betrayed you, Léonie!” I echoed. “I have not betrayed you!”
“But you have!” she declared angrily, her eyes flashing upon me. “You have broken your oath to me.”
“I have broken no oath,” I answered calmly; adding, “Let us sit down and talk quietly.”
“Talk quietly!” she cried, speaking rapidly in French. “Do you think I can talk quietly with ruin staring me in the face?”
“In what manner does ruin threaten you?” I inquired, placing my hand upon her arm in an effort to calm her.
She was terribly agitated, I could see, and her anger knew no bounds, although she was striving strenuously to suppress it.
“You have betrayed my secret—the secret of my love for you!” she cried. “That letter which you promised me to destroy is in the hands of my bitterest enemy.”
“Forgive me, Léonie,” I cried quickly. “The letter was mysteriously stolen from that writing-table there. How, I know not.”
“Cannot you even guess who is the thief?”