in the evening, and go wandering round the grounds in that mysterious
way. What could have induced you to take such a step?"

"I accidentally overheard Tom telling Tulee that you were to bring
home a bride from the North yesterday. I could not believe it of you,
and I was too proud to question him. But after reflecting upon it, I
chose to go and see for myself. And when I _had_ seen for myself, I
wished to remind you of that past which you seemed to have forgotten."

"Curse on Tom!" he exclaimed. "He shall smart for this mischief."

"Don't be so unmanly as to punish a poor servant for mentioning a
piece of news that interested the whole plantation, and which must of
course be a matter of notoriety," she replied very quietly. "Both he
and Tulee were delicate enough to conceal it from me."

Fitzgerald felt embarrassed by her perfect self-possession. After a
slight pause, during which she kept her face averted from him, he
said: "I confess that appearances are against me, and that you have
reason to feel offended. But if you knew just how I was situated, you
would, perhaps, judge me less harshly. I have met with heavy losses
lately, and I was in danger of becoming bankrupt unless I could keep
up my credit by a wealthy marriage. The father of this young lady is
rich, and she fell in love with me. I have married her; but I tell you
truly, dear Rosa, that I love you more than I ever loved any other
woman."

"You say she loved you, and yet you could deceive her so," she
replied. "You could conceal from her that you already had a wife. When
I watched her as she walked on the veranda I was tempted to reveal