I can only say them straight out and hope for the best. You
want a protector, don't you? And I--should like to be the one to
protect you if--if it were ever possible for you to think of me in
that light."
He spoke with immense effort. He was afraid of scaring her, afraid of
hurting her desolate young heart, afraid almost of the very impulse
that moved him to speak.
Absolute silence reigned when he ended.
Muriel had become suddenly rigid, and so still that she did not seem
to breathe. For several seconds he waited, but still she made no sign.
He had not the remotest clue to guide him. He began to feel as if a
door had unexpectedly closed against him, not violently, but steadily,
soundlessly, barring him out.
It was but a fleeting impression. In a few moments more it was gone.
She drew a long quivering breath, and turned slightly towards him.
"I would rather trust myself to you," she said, "than to any one else
in the world."
She spoke in her deep, sincere voice which gave him no doubt that she
meant what she said, and at once his own trepidation departed. He put
his arm around her, and pressed her close to him.
"Come to me then," he said very tenderly. "And I will take such care
of you, Muriel, that no one shall ever frighten you again."
She yielded to his touch as simply as a child, leaning her head
against him with a little, weary gesture of complete confidence.
Pages:
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188