"
She was so serious, so plaintive, and yet so shyly prophetic of
comfort yet to be attained, that his heart warmed with a mighty glow
of exaltation. A sweet feeling of tenderness swept over him.
"If God is good, there can be but one end to our adventure," he said,
and then, for some mysterious reason, silence fell between them. Long
afterward--it seemed hours to him!--she spoke, and her voice was low
and troubled.
"Can you guess why I am being watched so carefully, why I am being
followed so doggedly by men who serve not me but another?"
"Yes. It is because you are the greatest jewel in the possession of a
great man, and he would preserve you against all varlets,--such as
I."
She did not reveal surprise at his shrewd conjecture. She nodded her
head and sighed.
"You are right. I am his greatest jewel, and yet he would give me
into the keeping of an utter stranger. I am being protected against
that conscienceless varlet--Love! If love lays hands upon me--ah, my
friend, you cannot possibly guess what a calamity that would be!"
"And love _will_ lay hands upon you, Bedelia,--"
"I am sure of that," she said, once more serene mistress of herself
after a peculiarly dangerous lapse.
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