you not an affectionate word to greet me with, but you almost accuse me
of indifference. You reproach me with having gone away. Did you not
know my motive for going? I was betrothed to you; you were rich and I
was poor. To remove this inequality I resolved to make a name. I sought
one of those perilous scientific missions which bring celebrity or death
to those who undertake them. Ah! think not that I went away from you
without heart-breaking! For a year I was almost alone, crushed with
fatigue, always in danger; the thought that I was suffering for you
supported me.

"When lost in the vast desert, I was sad and discouraged; I invoked you,
and your sweet face gave me fresh hope and energy. I said to myself,
'She is waiting for me. A day will come when I shall win the prize of
all my trouble.' Well, Micheline, the day has come; here I am, returned,
and I ask for my reward. Is it what I had a right to expect? While I
was running after glory, another, more practical and better advised,
stole your heart. My happiness is destroyed. You did well to forget me.
The fool who goes so far away from his betrothed does not deserve her
faithfulness. He is cold, indifferent, he does not know how to love!"

These vehement utterances troubled Micheline deeply. For the first time
she understood her betrothed, felt how much he loved her, and regretted
not having known it before. If Pierre had spoken like that before going
away, who knows? Micheline's feelings might have been quickened.
No doubt she would have loved him. It would have come naturally.
But Pierre had kept the secret of his passion for the young girl to
himself. It was only despair, and the thought of losing her, that made
him give vent to his feelings now.

"I see that I have been cruel and unjust to you," said Micheline.