"
"I will not," said Geoffrey firmly, as the door closed behind Verplanck.
"Sweetheart, will you listen to me?"
"It is useless," murmured Betty, with a choking sob. "I was mad to even
dream it might be possible. Gulian has made it all too plain to me."
"Nay, you must and shall hear me. I will not leave you until I tell you
that I love you devotedly; ah, why should politics and war come between
our hearts? Consider, Betty, I will do all a gentleman and a man of
honor can to please you"--
"But you cannot desert your own people," she said despairingly. "I could
not love you if you did, for, Geoffrey, it is but due you to confess in
this hour of parting that you are very, very dear to me," and the last
words just reached his eager ears as Betty sank, trembling, into a
chair.
"Dearest," he cried, kissing the little hand which lay in his, "will you
not bid me hope? Think, the tide may turn; we are both young, and who
can predict the fortunes of war? I will not bind you, but to you I must
myself be bound by the passionate love I bear you."
"Oh, Geoffrey, my beloved, it cannot be! I know what my dear and honored
father would say.
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