"You know I love you," he said in a whisper. "From the first moment--no,
let me be truthful, not from the first moment: you remember how angry I
was with you; how I resented your dear presence, your interference?--but
soon, very soon afterwards, you stole into my heart. And you have been
there ever since. Oh, Celia!--think of it! I knew your name only a few
hours ago--you are all the world to me, my saviour, my guardian angel. I
can't live without you. I want you, dearest; I want you every hour,
every moment. Oh, I know I'm a poor lot, of no account, a man with a
stain still on his name, but I've got to tell you that I love you. I've
thought of this hour of our meeting a hundred, a thousand times, in all
sorts of places, in all sorts of circumstances. And now it has come!
Celia, I love you, dear, I love you! Speak to me, dear! Oh, I know I'm
not worthy of a single thought, a single breath of yours; but let my
love plead for me, and--speak to me, Celia!"
She sat enthralled by that magic which has been omnipotent since this
weary world of ours began, and will be till it ends. It was easy enough
for him to say "speak," but ah, how difficult it was for her to obey,
when her heart was too full for words! Instead of speech, she turned her
face to him; and laid her hand on his, which held hers nearest to him.
There was a thrill of a passionate love in that gentle touch; and
Derrick's heart flamed up. He caught her in his arms, and their lips
joined in that first ecstatic interchange of soul and heart. Presently,
she lay on his breast, her face still upturned to his kisses, her eyes
meeting his with the fullness, the fearlessness of a girl's first and
perfect love.
Silence reigned in the little wood; a squirrel, which had been watching
them from a distance, leapt noiselessly from a branch and stood and
surveyed them with piquant interest; the good god Pan hovered about them
and murmured his blessings on their mortal love. So long lasted the
silence--the ecstatic silence which, indeed, is golden--that time lost
its significance and they were caught up into the heaven of eternity.
At last, with a sigh, Celia came back to earth: that earth which his
love had turned to a veritable Paradise.
"I must go," she whispered.
"Must you, dearest--Celia?" he asked, with all a lover's reluctance.