"He paused, a long time as it seemed to me, before he spoke again. The silence was awful, and in the faces of the husband and the wife there were no signs of relenting. They bore themselves as two persons might have done who had inflicted upon each other a mortal wrong for which there was no earthly forgiveness. From my heart I pitied them both."
"You sent for me, madame,' he said presently, 'because it was necessary that some explanation should be given of the occurrences that have taken place in my family, of which you are a member. Each of us has reason to regret an alliance which has caused us so much suffering. Unfortunately for our happiness and our peace of mind the truth has been spoken too late; but it were idle now to waste time in lamentations. There are in life certain bitter trials which must be accepted; in that light I accept the calamity which has fallen upon us, and which, had I known before our marriage what I know now, would most surely have been averted. It was in your power to avert it; you did not do so, but led me blindly into the whirlpool. You have informed me that, after this night, you will never open your lips to me, nor ever again listen to my voice.'
"'Nor will I,' she said, 'from the rising of to-morrow's sun.'
"'I shall do nothing to woo you from that resolve. But you bear my name, and to some extent my honour is still in your keeping.'
"'Have you, then,' she asked, 'any commands to give me?'
"'It will depend,' he replied, 'upon what I hear from you. So far as my honour is concerned I intend to exercise control over you; no farther.'
"'Your honour is safe with me, as it has always been."
"'I will not debate the point with you. You say that you have decided on your course, and that no arguments of mine will turn you from it.'
"'Yes; my course is decided. Am I free to go from your house?'
"'You are not free to go. Only one thing shall part us--death!'
"'We have a child,' she said, and her voice, for that moment, insensibly softened.
"He went into the inner room, and remained there for several minutes, and my lady, with a white and tearless face, waited for his return.
"I thought I heard the sound of kisses in the bedroom, but I could not be sure. There was, however, a tender light in my master's eyes when he came back, a light which showed that his heart was touched.