‘By my God, that knows me, I did!’ As she said this she burst into tears and fell on her knees at his feet.

‘Marie,’ he said, ‘Marie;—­there is no use in this.  Stand up.’

’Not till you tell me that you will forgive me.  By the name of the good Jesus, who knows all our hearts, I thought that you had forgotten me.  O George, if you could know all!  If you could know how I have loved you; how I have sorrowed from day to day because I was forgotten!  How I have struggled to bear it, telling myself that you were away, with all the world to interest you, and not like me, a poor girl in a village, with no thing to think of but my lover!  How I have striven to do my duty by my uncle, and have obeyed him, because,—­because,—­because, there was nothing left.  If you could know it all!  If you could know it all!’ Then she clasped her arms round his legs, and hid her face upon his feet.

‘And whom do you love now?’ he asked.  She continued to sob, but did not answer him a word.  Then he stooped down and raised her to her feet, and she stood beside him, very near to him with her face averted.  ‘And whom do you love now?’ he asked again.  ’Is it me, or is it Adrian Urmand?’ But she could not answer him, though she had said enough in her passionate sorrow to make any answer to such a question unnecessary, as far as knowledge on the subject might be required.  It might suit his views that she should confess the truth in so many words, but for other purpose her answer had been full enough.  ‘This is very sad,’ he said, ’sad indeed; but I thought that you would have been firmer.’

‘Do not chide me again, George.’

‘No;—­it is to no purpose.’

‘You said that I was—­a curse to you?’

’O Marie, I had hoped,—­I had so hoped, that you would have been my blessing!’

‘Say that I am not a curse to you, George!’

But he would make no answer to this appeal, no immediate answer; but stood silent and stern, while she stood still touching his arm, waiting in patience for some word at any rate of forgiveness.  He was using all the powers of his mind to see if there might even yet be any way to escape this great shipwreck.  She had not answered his question.  She had not told him in so many words that her heart was still his, though she had promised her hand to the Basle merchant.  But he could not doubt that it was so.  As he stood there silent, with that dark look upon his brow which he had inherited from his father, and that angry fire in his eye, his heart was in truth once more becoming soft and tender towards her.  He was beginning to understand how it had been with her.  He had told her, just now, that he did not believe her, when she assured him that she had thought that she was forgotten.  Now he did believe her.  And there arose in his breast a feeling that it was due to her that he should explain this change in his mind.  ‘I suppose you did think it,’ he said suddenly.