He drew her toward him tenderly. "No,
darling," he cried, kissing her, for he was a chivalrous young man,
as he understood chivalry; and to him it was indeed a most cruel
blow to learn that his future wife was born out of lawful wedlock.
"I'm proud of you; I love you. I worship the very ground your
sweet feet tread on. Nothing on earth could make me anything but
grateful and thankful for the gift of your love you're gracious
enough to bestow on me."
But Dolly drew back in alarm. Not on such terms as those. She,
too, had her pride; she, too, had her chivalry. "No, no," she
cried, shrinking. "I don't know what it is. I don't know what it
means. But till I've gone home to London and asked about it from
mother,--oh, Walter, we two are no longer engaged. You are free
from your promise."
She said it proudly; she said it bravely. She said it with womanly
grace and dignity. Something of Herminia shone out in her that
moment. No man should ever take her--to the grandest home--unless
he took her at her full worth, pleased and proud to win her.
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