I wanted to probe things. Yet I meant no wrong. I thought then
nothing of which I shall ever be ashamed. But I shall always be ashamed
because I knew him, because he thought that I--oh, if I were a man, I
should be glad that I had killed him, for the sake of all honest women!"
He remained silent. His look was not upon her, he seemed lost in a dream;
but his face was fixed in trouble.
She misunderstood his silence. "You had the courage, the impulse to--to
do it," she said keenly; "you have not the courage to justify it. I will
not have it so.
"I will tell the truth to all the world. I will not shrink I shrank
yesterday because I was afraid of the world; to-day I will face it, I
will--"
She stopped suddenly, and another look flashed into her face. Presently
she spoke in a different tone; a new light had come upon her mind. "But I
see," she added. "To tell all is to make you the victim, too, of what he
did. It is in your hands; it is all in your hands; and I cannot speak
unless--unless you are ready also."
There was an unintended touch of scorn in her voice.
Pages:
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168