I put
my hand to each little velvet shell to make certain that this
sacrilege had not yet been committed.
Only over my dead body should they reach them. I swore it to her
between my clenched teeth.
"You must not care, Etienne. And yet I love that you should care
all the same."
"They shall not hurt you--the fiends!"
"I have hopes, Etienne. Lorenzo is there. He was silent while I
was judged, but he may have pleaded for me after I was gone."
"He did. I heard him."
"Then he may have softened their hearts."
I knew that it was not so, but how could I bring myself to tell
her? I might as well have done so, for with the quick instinct
of woman my silence was speech to her.
"They would not listen to him! You need not fear to tell me,
dear, for you will find that I am worthy to be loved by such a
soldier. Where is Lorenzo now?"
"He left the hall."
"Then he may have left the house as well."
"I believe that he did."
"He has abandoned me to my fate. Etienne, Etienne, they are
coming!"
Afar off I heard those fateful steps and the jingle of distant
keys.
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