She came near me and laid her hand on my shoulder. I put my hand up and held hers.
"I know people write and talk as if it were. Perhaps, for some, Fate lets it be. Ah, if I were one of them! But if love had been the only thing you would have let the king die in his cell."
I kissed her hand.
"Honor binds a woman too, Rudolf. My honor lies in being true to my country and my House. I don't know why God has let me love you; but I know that I must stay!"
Still I said nothing; and she, pausing a while, then went on:
"Your ring will always be on my finger, your heart in my heart, the touch of your lips on mine. But you must go and I must stay. Perhaps I must do what it kills me to think of doing."
I knew what she meant, and a shiver ran through me. But I could not utterly fail beside her. I rose and took her hand.
"Do you what you will or what you must," I said. " I think God shows his purposes to such as you. My part is lighter; for your ring shall be on
