"Norman," she said gently, "sit down here by my side, and I will tell
you why I have come."
They sat down side by side on the beach. There was only the wide blue
sky above, only the wide waste of restless waters at their feet, only a
circling sea-gull near--no human being to watch the tragedy of love and
pride played out by the sea Waves.
"I have come," she said, "to make one more appeal to you, Norman--to ask
you to change this stern determination which is ruining your life and
mine--to ask you to take me back to your home and your heart. For I have
been thinking, dear, and I do not see that the obstacle is such as you
seem to imagine. It was a terrible wrong, a great disgrace--it was a
cruel deception, a fatal mistake; but, after all, it might be
overlooked. Moreover, Norman, when you made me your wife, did you not
promise to love and to cherish, to protect me and make me happy until I
died?"
"Yes," he replied, briefly.
"Then how are you keeping that promise--a promise made in the sight of
Heaven?"
Lord Arleigh looked down at the fair, pure face, a strange light
glowing in his own.
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