"
"And after the marriage--?" His voice faltered, as he began the
question, and he left it unfinished.
"After the marriage," she said, "I shall stand in no further need of
your assistance."
The captain stooped as she gave him that answer, looked close at her,
and suddenly drew back, without uttering a word. He walked away some
paces, and sat down again doggedly on the grass. If Magdalen could have
seen his face in the dying light, his face would have startled her. For
the first time, probably, since his boyhood, Captain Wragge had changed
color. He was deadly pale.
"Have you nothing to say to me?" she asked. "Perhaps you are waiting
to hear what terms I have to offer? These are my terms; I pay all our
expenses here; and when we part, on the day of the marriage, you take
a farewell gift away with you of two hundred pounds. Do you promise me
your assistance on those conditions?"
"What am I expected to do?" he asked, with a furtive glance at her, and
a sudden distrust in his voice.
"You are expected to preserve my assumed character and your own," she
answered, "and you are to prevent any inquiries of Mrs. Lecount's
from discovering who I really am.
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