Taking my hand gently in hers, she raised it slowly to her lips, replying, “When we are free to love each other.”
“Are we not free now? What obstacle is there?”
“One that seemeth insurmountable,” she answered, looking earnestly at me with her fine dark eyes, so full of love and passion. “By a secret bond am I held unto the Ennitra, and thou alone canst sever it and give me freedom.”
“How?” I asked eagerly.
“By faithfully carrying out the mission that I entrusted unto thee; by obtaining the secret from Mohammed ben Ishak at Agadez.”
“I have done my best,” I said. “I have actually been in Agadez, but only as slave in the Fáda of the Sultan.”
“Yes,” she replied, with a sweet, tender smile, lifting her dark lashes for an instant; “already have I heard of thy perilous adventures, of the gallant attempt thou hast made, risking thy life fearlessly among thine enemies for my sake. True, we love each other devotedly, but, alas! we—we are not yet free;” and her bright eyes became dimmed with tears.
“When shall we have liberty?” I asked, entwining my arm about her neck, so that her sensuously-beautiful head pillowed itself upon my shoulder.
For a few moments she remained silent; then, gazing up into my eyes with an intense, wistful look, she answered—
“When thou hast learned the Secret, and used it upon our mutual behalf; then only can I extricate myself from the Bond of Blood.”