Once, after
drinking more than usual, he entirely forgot his assumed part, and
revealed himself in his true character. He declared he bitterly
regretted that our love affair had ended so disastrously. It was
deplorable to think that so happily conceived and so skilfully
conducted a scheme should have terminated in bloodshed. And the
blow had fallen just as he fancied he had reached the goal; just
as he thought he would reap the reward of his labor. In a few
weeks' more time he would undoubtedly have gained sufficient
influence over me to persuade me to elope with him. This would,
of course, have caused a great scandal; the next day there would
have been a family conclave; a compromise would have been
effected, and finally, a marriage arranged with a large dowry, to
hush up the affair. 'And I should now be a rich man,' he added,
'a very rich man--I should be rolling through the streets of Paris
in my carriage, instead of being on board this cursed ship, eating
salt cod twice a day, and living on charity.'
"Ah! it was no longer possible to doubt. The truth was as clear
as daylight. I had never been loved, not even an hour, not even a
moment. The loving letters which had blinded me, the
protestations of affection which had deceived me, had been
addressed to my father's millions, not to myself. And not
unfrequently I saw Arthur Gordon's face darken, as he talked with
evident anxiety about what he could do to earn a living for
himself and me in America.
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