“Shall I tell you?” He smiled, playing with her hand.  “How can I?  There are so few words in which to say so much.  But I will tell you this—­I would give my word for you.  Does that sound little?  You should know, for you know at what price you would have saved my honour a while ago.  I believe in you so truly that I would stake my word, and my honour, and my Christian oath upon your faith, and promise for you before God or man that you will always love me as you do to-day.”

“You may pledge all three.  I will, and I will give you all I have that is not God’s—­and if that is not enough, I will give my soul for yours, if I may, to suffer in your stead.”

She spoke quietly enough, but there was a little quaver of true earnestness in her voice, that made each word a solemn promise.

“And besides that,” she added, “you see how I trust you.”

She smiled again as she looked at him, and knew how safe she was, far safer now than when she had first come with him to the door.  Something told her that he had mastered himself—­she would not have wished to think that she had ruled him? it was enough if she had shown him the way, and had helped him.  He pressed her hand to his cheek and looked down thoughtfully, wishing that he could find such simple words that could say so much, but not trusting himself to speak.  For though, in love, a man speaks first, he always finds the least to say of love when it has strongest hold of him; but a woman has words then, true and tender, that come from her heart unsought.  Yet by and by, if love is not enduring, so that both tire of it, the man plays the better comedy, because he has the greater strength, and sometimes what he says has the old ring in it, because it is so well said, and the woman smiles and wonders that his love should have lasted longer than hers, and desiring the illusion, she finds old phrases again; yet there is no life in them, because when love is dead she thinks of herself, and instead, it was only of him she thought in the good days when her heart used to beat at the sound of his footfall, and the light grew dim and unsteady as she felt his kiss.  But the love of these two was not born to tire; and because he was so young, and knew the world little, save at his sword’s point, he was ashamed that he could not speak of love as well as she.

“Find words for me,” he said, “and I will say them, for yours are better than mine.”

“Say, ‘I love you, dear,’ very softly and gently—­not roughly, as you sometimes do.  I want to hear it gently now, that, and nothing else.”

She turned a little, leaning towards him, her face near his, her eyes quiet and warm, and she took his hands and held them together before her as if he were her prisoner—­and indeed she meant that he should not suddenly take her in his arms, as he often did.

“I love you, dear,” he repeated, smiling, and pretending to be very docile.