To-morrow I shall be laughed at, and I cannot defend
myself as a man can. I must submit; I must smile and cover my
chagrin. O, Monsieur, do not speak to me of love; there is
nothing in my heart but rage and bitterness. To stoop as I have
stooped, and in vain! I am defeated; I must remain passive; like
a whipped child I am driven away. Talk not of love to me. I am
without illusion." She fell to weeping, and to him she was
lovelier in her tears than ever in her smiles. For would she
have shown this weakness to any but himself, and was it not a
sign that he was not wholly indifferent to her?
"Madame, what is it?" he cried, on his knees before her. "What
is it? Do you wish a crown? Find me a kingdom, and I will buy it
for you. Be mine, and woe to those who dare to laugh! Ah, could
I but convince you that love is above crowns and kingdoms, the
only glimpse we have on earth of Paradise. There is no boundary
to the dreams; no horizons; a vast, beautiful wilderness, and
you and I together. There are no storms, no clouds. Ambition,
the god of schemes, finds no entrance. Ah, how I love you! Your
face is ever before me, waking or sleeping.
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