But I am free to say this much to you--I am not a
dishonorable man who has played lightly with the affections of an
innocent girl. I have acted toward Lois as I believe will be for her
ultimate happiness--I have shielded her from a misfortune, a
punishment I might say, which would have fallen unjustly on her
shoulders. I have taken a burden upon my shoulders because I love
her--and I have the right to love her--but chiefly because it is my
duty to do so. Where there is sin, Beatrice, there must also be
atonement, otherwise its consequences can never be wiped out. I have
chosen to atone."
Beatrice made no attempt to question him. Her eyes fell thoughtfully
on the gaunt face, and for the first time she appreciated to the full
what was great and generous in the nature she had condemned all too
often as narrow and unbending. Whatever else he was, this man was no
Pharisee. If he was narrow, he allowed himself no license; if
unbending, he was at least least of all relenting toward his own
conduct. She pitied him and she respected him, even though she could
not understand his motives nor guess the weight of the responsibility
which he had taken upon himself.
"I can not reproach you with deception," she said at last. "You never
pretended that you loved me, and on my side I think the matter was
pretty clear. I intended to marry you for your position. Afterward
money added a further incentive. I saw the loss of our own fortune
coming.
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