It is broken
because of--YOU!"
"I!" Melisse drew back from him with a breathless cry. "I--I have
broken--"
"I did not say that," interrupted Jean. "I say that it is broken
because of you. Mon Dieu, if only I might tell you!"
"Do-DO, Jean! Please tell me!" She put her hands on his shoulders. Her
eyes implored him. "Tell me what I have done--what I can do, Jean!"
"I can say that much to you, and no more," he said quietly. "Only know
this, ma chere--that there is a great grief eating at the soul of Jan
Thoreau, and that because of this grief he is changed. I know what
this grief is, but I am pledged never to reveal it. It is for you to
find out, and to do this, above all else--let him know that you love
him!"
The color had faded from her startled face, but now it came back again
in a swift flood.
"That I love him?"
"Yes. Not as a sister any longer, Melisse, but as a WOMAN!"
CHAPTER XXII
HER PROMISE
Gravois did not stay to see the effect of his last words. Only he
knew, as he went through the door, that her eyes were following him,
and that if he looked at her she would call him back. So he shut the
door quickly behind him, fearing that he had already said too much.
Cummins and Jan came in together at suppertime.
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