'Will the day never come,' he pleaded, 'when the privilege
of protecting you may be mine? when you will be the pride and joy
of my life, as long as my life lasts?' He pressed her hand gently.
She made no reply. The colour came and went on her face; her eyes
were turned away from him. 'Have I been so unhappy as to offend you?'
he asked.
She answered that--she said, almost in a whisper, 'No.'
'Have I distressed you?'
'You have made me think of the sad days that are gone.' She said no more;
she only tried to withdraw her hand from his for the second time.
He still held it; he lifted it to his lips.
'Can I never make you think of other days than those--of the happier
days to come? Or, if you must think of the time that is passed,
can you not look back to the time when I first loved you?'
She sighed as he put the question. 'Spare me, Henry,' she answered sadly.
'Say no more!'
The colour again rose in her cheeks; her hand trembled in his.
She looked lovely, with her eyes cast down and her bosom heaving gently.
At that moment he would have given everything he had in the world
to take her in his arms and kiss her.
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