The Mysterious Key and What It Opened by Louisa May Alcott
page 57 of 76 (75%)
page 57 of 76 (75%)
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"What, marry her?"
"Aye, that I will." "Oh Paul, will you tie yourself for life to a--" The word died on her lips, but a gesture of repugnance finished the speech. "A what?" he demanded, excitedly. "An innocent, one bereft of reason," stammered Lillian, entirely forgetting herself in her interest for him. "Of whom do you speak?" asked Paul, looking utterly bewildered, "Of poor Helen." "Good heavens, who told you that base lie?" And his voice deepened with indignant pain. "I saw her, you did not deny her affliction; Hester said so, and I believed it. Have I wronged her, Paul?" "Yes, cruelly. She is blind, but no idiot, thank God." There was such earnestness in his voice, such reproach in his words, and such ardor in his eye, that Lillian's pride gave way, and with a broken entreaty for pardon, she covered up her face, weeping the bitterest tears she ever shed. For in that moment, and the sharp pang it brought her, she felt how much she loved Paul and how hard it was to lose him. The childish affection had blossomed into a woman's passion, and in a |
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