Mrs. Willoughby hesitated for a moment, but now perceived that Dacres was really speaking to her. "He"s in delirium," she thought. "Poor fellow, I must humor him, I suppose. But what a funny name to give me!"
So, after a little preparatory cough, Mrs. Willoughby said, in a low voice,
"What question?"
Dacres was silent for a few moments. He was overcome by his emotions.
He wished to ask her one question--the question of all questions in his mind. Already her acts had answered it sufficiently; but he longed to have the answer in her own words. Yet he hesitated to ask it. It was dishonor to her to ask it. And thus, between longing and hesitation, he delayed so long that Mrs. Willoughby imagined that he had fallen back into his dreams or into his delirium, and would say no more.
But at last Dacres staked every thing on the issue, and asked it:
"Arethusa! oh, Arethusa! do you--do you love--the--the Italian?"
"The Italian!" said Mrs. Willoughby--"love the Italian! me!" and then in a moment she thought that this was his delirium, and she must humor it. "Poor fellow!" she sighed again; "how he fought them! and no doubt he has had fearful blows on his head."
"Do you? do you? Oh, answer, I implore you!" cried Dacres.
"No!" said Mrs. Willoughby, solemnly. "I hate him as I never hated man before." She spoke her mind this time, although she thought the other was delirious.
A sigh of relief and of happiness came from Dacres, so deep that it was almost a groan.
"And oh," he continued, "tell me this--have you ever loved him at all?"
"I always disliked him excessively," said Mrs. Willoughby, in the same low and solemn tone. "I saw something bad--altogether bad--in his face."
"Oh, may Heaven forever bless you for that word!" exclaimed Dacres, with such a depth of fervor that Mrs. Willoughby was surprised. She now believed that he was intermingling dreams with realities, and tried to lead him to sense by reminding him of the truth.
"It was Minnie, you know, that he was fond of."
"What! Minnie Fay?"
"Yes; oh yes. I never saw any thing of him."
"Oh, Heavens!" cried Dacres; "oh, Heavens, what a fool, beast, villain, and scoundrel I have been! Oh, how I have misjudged _you_!
And can _you_ forgive me? Oh, can you? But no--you can not."
At this appeal Mrs. Willoughby was startled, and did not know what to say or to do. How much of this was delirium and how much real she could not tell. One thing seemed evident to her, and that was that, whether delirious or not, he took her for another person. But she was so full of pity for him, and so very tender-hearted, that her only idea was to "humor" him.
"Oh," he cried again, "can this all be true, and have all my suspicions been as mad as these last? And _you_--how _you_ have changed! How beautiful you are! What tenderness there is in your glance--what a pure and gentle and touching grace there is in your expression! I swear to you, by Heaven! I have stood gazing at you in places where you have not seen me, and thought I saw heaven in your face, and worshiped you in my inmost soul. This is the reason why I have followed you. From the time I saw you when you came into the room at Naples till this night I could not get rid of your image. I fought against the feeling, but I can not overcome it. Never, never were you half so dear as you are now!"
Now, of course, that was all very well, considered as the language of an estranged husband seeking for reconciliation with an estranged wife; but when one regards it simply as the language of a pa.s.sionate lover directed to a young and exceedingly pretty widow, one will perceive that it was _not_ all very well, and that under ordinary circ.u.mstances it might create a sensation.
Upon Mrs. Willoughby the sensation was simply tremendous. She had begun by "humoring" the delirious man; but now she found his delirium taking a course which was excessively embarra.s.sing. The worst of it was, there was truth enough in his language to increase the embarra.s.sment. She remembered at once how the mournful face of this man had appeared before her in different places. Her thoughts instantly reverted to that evening on the balcony when his pale face appeared behind the fountain. There was truth in his words; and her heart beat with extraordinary agitation at the thought. Yet at the same time there was some mistake about it all; and he was clearly delirious.
"Oh, Heavens!" he cried. "Can you ever forgive me? Is there a possibility of it? Oh, can you forgive me? Can you--can you?"
He was clearly delirious now. Her heart was full of pity for him. He was suffering too. He was bound fast. Could she not release him? It was terrible for this man to lie there bound thus. And perhaps he had fallen into the hands of these ruffians while trying to save _her_ and her sister. She must free him.
"Would you like to be loosed?" she asked, coming nearer. "Shall I cut your bonds?"
She spoke in a low whisper.
"Oh, tell me first, I implore you! Can you forgive me?"
He spoke in such a piteous tone that her heart was touched.
"Forgive you?" she said, in a voice full of sympathy and pity. "There is nothing for _me_ to forgive."
"Now may Heaven forever bless you for that sweet and gentle word!"
said Dacres, who altogether misinterpreted her words, and the emphasis she placed on them; and in his voice there was such peace, and such a gentle, exultant happiness, that Mrs. Willoughby again felt touched.
"Poor fellow!" she thought; "how he _must_ have suffered!"
"Where are you fastened?" she whispered, as she bent over him. Dacres felt her breath upon his cheek; the hem of her garment touched his sleeve, and a thrill pa.s.sed through him. He felt as though he would like to be forever thus, with _her_ bending over him.
"My hands are fastened behind me," said he.
"I have a knife," said Mrs. Willoughby. She did not stop to think of danger. It was chiefly pity that incited her to this. She could not bear to see him lying thus in pain, which he had perhaps, as she supposed, encountered for her. She was impulsive, and though she thought of his a.s.sistance toward the escape of Minnie and herself, yet pity and compa.s.sion were her chief inspiring motives.
Mrs. Willoughby had told Girasole that she had no knife; but this was not quite true, for she now produced one, and cut the cords that bound his wrists. Again a thrill flashed through him at the touch of her little fingers; she then cut the cords that bound his ankles.
Dacres sat up. His ankles and wrists were badly swollen, but he was no longer conscious of pain. There was rapture in his soul, and of that alone was he conscious.
"Be careful!" she whispered, warningly; "guards are all around, and listeners. Be careful! If you can think of a way of escape, do so."
Dacres rubbed his hand over his forehead.
"Am I dreaming?" said he; "or is it all true? A while ago I was suffering from some hideous vision; yet now you say you forgive me!"
Mrs. Willoughby saw in this a sign of returning delirium. "But the poor fellow must be humored, I suppose," she thought.
"Oh, there is nothing for _me_ to forgive," said she.
"But if there were any thing, would you?"
"Yes."
"Freely?" he cried, with a strong emphasis.
"Yes, freely."
"Oh, could you answer me one more question? Oh, could you?"
"No, no; not now--not now, I entreat you," said Mrs. Willoughby, in nervous dread. She was afraid that his delirium would bring him upon delicate ground, and she tried to hold him back.
"But I must ask you," said Dacres, trembling fearfully--"I must--now or never. Tell me my doom; I have suffered so much. Oh, Heavens!
Answer me. Can you? Can you feel toward me as you once did?"
"He"s utterly mad," thought Mrs. Willoughby; "but he"ll get worse if I don"t soothe him. Poor fellow! I ought to answer him."