I had obtained from her all that I could hope for,
and given her quite as much as, if not more than, she desired. To stay
by her now would be to compromise her; I could not be blind to the
conviction of all my acquaintance, which saw in me that horrible
spectacle, the lover of a married woman, accepted as such by her lawful
master. Robbery! of which I could never be capable. No more of Aurelia,
then, no more. She must depart like a dream before the stern face of the
morrow--or I must depart. Happy, perhaps, for her, whatever it may have
been for me, that she herself had taken the first step when she turned
her back upon me in pique.
I disregarded Palamone's bloody end. I had executed a criminal, a
procurer for hire, a vile thing unworthy to live; but what was I to do
with Virginia? There was a young woman of capacity, merit and beauty,
whose honour I had taken in charge. So far I had maintained it, and
there were two ways in which I could continue so to do. In return, she
had given me devotion of the most singular kind--for it is extreme
devotion that a girl should bear obloquy and humiliation for the sake of
a man who has defended her. There was no doubt also but that I was
master of her heart; no doubt at all but that she would give herself to
me without thought if I lifted a finger. The conviction of such a truth
is a dangerous possession for a man, and I don't pretend that I was
insensible to it, any more than I was to her definite and personal
charm.
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