There was no time to bring her to his bedside and marry her
while he still breathed. He could not even leave her money, for he was
a minor. He could do nothing for her and her parents would turn her
into the street; in any case she was ruined. He was in frightful agony
of mind for her sake, he was dying before my eyes, powerless to help
her and taking his suffering and his fault with him to the next world,
and he was my friend. I did what I could. I gave him my word of honour
that I would marry her legally, give her and her child my name, and
provide for them as well as I could. He thanked me--I shall never
forget how he looked--and he died quietly, half an hour afterwards.
You know now. I kept my word. That is all."
The Princess looked at his quiet face a moment in silence, and all
that was best in her rose up through all that was artificial and
worldly, and untruthful and vain.
"I did not know that there were such men," she said simply.
CHAPTER XX
"So he got out," said Gigi to Toto, filling the latter's glass to the
brim.
"May he die assassinated!" answered Toto. "I will burn a candle to the
Madonna every day, in order that an apoplexy may seize him. He is the
devil in person, this cursed engineer. Even the earth and the water
will not have him. They spit him out, like that.
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