"Tamara," he said, and he took her hand, "these were my mother's rooms.
I loved her very much, and I always thought I would never let any
woman--even my wife--enter them. I have left them just as she used them
last. But now I know that is not what she would have wished."
His deep voice trembled a little with a note of feeling in it which was
new, and which touched Tamara's innermost being.
"I want you to see them now with me, and then while we are in the South
all these things shall be taken away, and they shall be left bare and
white for you to arrange them when we come back, just as you would
like. I want my mother's blessing to rest on us--which it will do--"
Then he paused, and there was a wonderful silence, and when he went on,
his tones were full of a great tenderness.
"Little one, in these rooms, some day I will make you happy."
Tamara trembled so she could hardly stand, the reaction from her misery
was so immense. She swayed a little and put out her hand to steady
herself by the back of a chair. He thought she was going to fall,
seeing her so white, and he put his arm round her as he led her through
the room and into the sitting-room, and then beyond again to a little
sanctuary. Here a lamp swung before the Ikon, and the colors were
subdued and rich, while the virgin's soft eyes looked down upon them.
There were fresh lilies, too, in a vase below, and their scent perfumed
the air.
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