Willoughby, in the same
low and solemn tone. "I saw something bad--altogether bad--in his
face."
"Oh, may Heaven forever bless you for that word!" exclaimed Dacres,
with such a depth of fervor that Mrs. Willoughby was surprised. She
now believed that he was intermingling dreams with realities, and
tried to lead him to sense by reminding him of the truth.
"It was Minnie, you know, that he was fond of."
"What! Minnie Fay?"
"Yes; oh yes. I never saw any thing of him."
"Oh, Heavens!" cried Dacres; "oh, Heavens, what a fool, beast,
villain, and scoundrel I have been! Oh, how I have misjudged _you_!
And can _you_ forgive me? Oh, can you? But no--you can not."
At this appeal Mrs. Willoughby was startled, and did not know what to
say or to do. How much of this was delirium and how much real she
could not tell. One thing seemed evident to her, and that was that,
whether delirious or not, he took her for another person. But she was
so full of pity for him, and so very tenderhearted, that her only idea
was to "humor" him.
"Oh," he cried again, "can this all be true, and have all my
suspicions been as mad as these last? And _you_--how _you_ have
changed! How beautiful you are! What tenderness there is in your
glance--what a pure and gentle and touching grace there is in your
expression! I swear to you, by Heaven! I have stood gazing at you in
places where you have not seen me, and thought I saw heaven in your
face, and worshiped you in my inmost soul.
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