"His wife!" Morgana repeated the words in amazement, and Lady Kingswood, laying down her work, gazed at the two beautiful women, the one so spiritlike and fair, the other so human and queenly, in a kind of stupefaction, wondering if she had heard aright.
"His wife! Yes!"... Manella spoke with a thrill of exultation in her voice,--and she caught Morgana's hand and kissed it fondly--"His wife! It is the only way I can be his slave-woman! Let me marry him while he knows nothing, so that I may have the right to wait upon him and care for him! He shall never know! For--if he comes to himself again--please God he will!--as soon as that happens I will go away at once. He will never know!--he shall never learn who it is that has cared for him! You see? I shall never be really his wife--nor he my husband--only in name. And then--when he comes out of the darkness--when he is strong and well once more, he will go to YOU!--you whom he loves--"
Morgana silenced her by a gesture which was at once commanding and sweetly austere.
"Dear girl, he never loved me!" she said, gently--"He has always loved himself. Yes!--you know that as well as I do! Once--I fancied I loved HIM--but now I know my way of love is not his. Let us say no more of it! You wish to be his wife? Do you think what that means? He will never know he is your husband--never recognise you,--your life will be sacrificed to a helpless creature whose brain is gone--who will be unconscious of your care and utterly irresponsive. Oh, sweet, TOO loving Manella!--you must not pledge the best years of your youth and beauty to such a destiny!"
Manella's dark eyes flashed with passionate ardour and enthusiasm.
"I must--I must!" she said--"It is the work God gives me to do! Do you not see how it is with me? It is my one love--the best of my heart!--the pulse of my life! Youth and beauty!--what are they without him? Ill or well, he is all I care for, and if I may not care for him I will die! It is quite easy to die--to make an end!--but if there is any youth or beauty to spend, it will be better to spend it on love than in death! My white angel, listen and be patient with me! You ARE patient but still be more so!--you know there will be none in the world to care for him!--ah!--when he was well and strong he said that love would weary him--he did not think he would ever be helpless and ill!--ah, no!--but a broken brain is put away--out of sight--to be forgotten like a broken toy! He was at work on some wonderful invention--some great secret!--it will never be known now--not a soul will ever ask what has become of it or of him! The world does not care what becomes of anyone--it has no sympathy. Only those who love greatly have any pity!"