All I knew at the time was that it fascinated me. And as I
now recall it, all I know is that your gaze then seemed full of
something which I can give a name to now, though I did not understand
it then--the pathos and tenderness and yearning, which come, as I
have been told, from suffering, and that your voice seemed to have
the same message. That expression and that tone are gone--they will,
of course, never return to you now. Your life is, and will be, too
prosperous for that. But still I hope and believe that in a year's
time prosperity will not have worked in you any of the mischief that
my aunt feared. For you have a noble nature, Henry, and to spoil you
will not be easy. You will never be the dear little Henry I loved,
but you will still be nobler and greater than other men, I think.'
'Do you really mean that my lameness was a positive attraction to
you? Do you really mean that the very change in me which I thought
would strengthen the bond between us--my restoration to
health--weakens it? That is impossible, Winnie.'
She remained silent for a time, as though lost in thought, and then
said, 'I do not believe that any woman can understand the movements
of her own heart where love is concerned.
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