And yet there
was much of earth clinging to him still, and it made itself felt in
the rapid beating of his heart when he glanced towards the square pew
where Lucy knelt and knew that she was giving thanks for him restored
again.
Once, in the earlier stages of his convalescence, he had almost
betrayed his secret by asking her which she would rather do--bury him
from her sight, feeling that he loved her to the last, or give him to
another, now that she knew he would recover. There was a frightened
look in Lucy's eyes as she replied: "I would ten thousand times rather
see you dead, and know that, even in death, you were my own, than to
lose you that other way. Oh, Arthur, you have no thought of leaving me
now?"
"No, darling, I have not, I am yours always," he said, feeling that
the compact was sealed forever and that God blessed the sealing.
He had written to Mrs. Meredith, granting her his forgiveness and
asking that, if Anna did not already know of the deception, she might
never be enlightened. And Mrs. Meredith had answered that Anna had
only heard a rumor that an offer had been made her, but that she
regarded it as a mistake, and was fast recovering both her health and
spirits.
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