Part 44 (2/2)
”Yes”
”What do you think of thy review?” I smiled
What a woman she was! Under those circus, she was still Desiree Le Mire
”Don't laugh at me,” she said ”I want to know I have never spoken of what I did that time in the cavern--you knohat I mean I am sorry now I suppose you despise ,” I objected ”And you wouldn't You wereyourself”
She turned on me quickly with a flash of her old fire
”Don't play with iven me a serious word”
”Nor any one else,” I answered ”My dear Desiree, do you not know that I a in the world is worth it”
”At least, you need not pretend,” she retorted ”I meant once for you to die You know it And since you pretend not to understand e words fro to forgive”
”My friend, you are beco dull An evasive answer should always be a witty one Must I ask you again?”
”That--depends,” I answered, hardly knohat to say
”On--”
”On whether or not you were serious, once upon a time, when you made a--shall we call it a confession? If you were, I offended you in , and I played my role I do not yet believe that you were; I ah to think it possible”
”I do not say,” Desiree began; then she stopped and added hastily: ”But that is past I shall not tell you that again Perhaps I forgot myself Perhaps it was a pretty play You have not answered e and terrible as her experiences and sufferings had been, she had lost little of her beauty Her face was rendered only the more delicate by its pallor Her white and perfect body, only half seen in the half-darkness, conveyed a sense of the purest beauty with no hint of immodesty
But I was moved not by what I saw, but by what I knew I had admired her always as Le Mire; but her bravery, her hardihood, her sympathy for others under circu only of herself--had these awakened in er than admiration?
I did not know But my voice trembled a little as I said: ”I need not answer you, Desiree I repeat that there is nothing to forgive You sought revenge, then sacrificed it; but still revenge is yours”
She looked at me for a moment in silence, then said slowly: ”I do not understand you”
For reply I took her hand init tokiss on the top of each of the slender white fingers Then I held the hand tight between both ofinto her eyes:
”Do you understand me now?”
Another silence