"
The smile passed from Christina's face. "I shall never marry," she
answered. "Never is a long word, little one."
"A true woman does not marry the man she does not love."
"But may she not marry the man she does?" smiled Nicholas.
"Sometimes she may not," Christina explained.
"And when is that?"
Christina's face was turned away. "When he has ceased to love
her."
The soul in old Nick's body leapt with joy. "He is not worthy of you,
Christina. His new fortune has changed him. Is it not so? He thinks
only of money. It is as though the soul of a miser had entered into
him. He would marry even Dame Toelast for the sake of her gold-bags
and her broad lands and her many mills, if only she would have him.
Cannot you forget him?"
"I shall never forget him. I shall never love another man. I try to
hide it; and often I am content to find there is so much in the world
that I can do. But my heart is breaking." She rose and, kneeling
beside him, clasped her hands around him. "I am glad you have let me
tell you," she said. "But for you I could not have borne it. You are
so good to me."
For answer he stroked with his withered hand the golden hair that fell
disordered about his withered knees. She raised her eyes to him; they
were filled with tears, but smiling.
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