After Antony had eaten he lay down upon a couch and fell into an uneasy
sleep, and so continued, until Elizabeth touched him, and said, softly,
"It is time, my dear. Ben will be waiting." Then he stood up and looked
at her. She took his hands, she threw her arms around his neck, she
sobbed great, heavy, quiet sobs against his breast. She felt that it
was a last farewell--that she would never see his face again.
And Antony could not restrain himself. He kissed her with despairing
grief. He made passionate promises of atonement. He came back three
times to kiss once more the white cold face so dear to him, and each
time he kissed a prayer for his safety and pardon off her lips. At
the last moment he said, "Your love is great, Elizabeth. My little
boy! I have wronged him shamefully."
"He shall be my child. He shall never know shame. I will take the most
loving care of his future. You may trust him to me, Antony."
Then he went away. Elizabeth tried to see him from the window, but
the night was dark, and he kept among the shrubbery. At such hours
the soul apprehends and has presentiments and feelings which it obeys
without analyzing them. She paced the long corridor, feeling no chill
and no fear, and seeming to see clearly the pictured faces around her.
She was praying; and among them she did not feel as if she was praying
aloud.
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