"I understand. Tell me
the rest," she said.
Lady Anstruthers' head dropped.
"When I was loneliest, and dying of homesickness, and so weak that I
could not speak without sobbing, he came to me--it was one morning after
I had been lying awake all night--and he began to seem kinder. He had
not been near me for two days, and I had thought I was going to be
left to die alone--and mother would never know. He said he had been
reflecting and that he was afraid that we had misunderstood each
other--because we belonged to different countries, and had been brought
up in different ways----" she paused.
"And that if you understood his position and considered it, you might
both be quite happy," Betty gave in quiet termination.
Lady Anstruthers started.
"Oh, you know it all!" she exclaimed
"Only because I have heard it before. It is an old trick. And because
he seemed kind and relenting, you tried to understand--and signed
something."
"I WANTED to understand. I WANTED to believe. What did it matter which
of us had the money, if we liked each other and were happy? He told me
things about the estate, and about the enormous cost of it, and his bad
luck, and debts he could not help.
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