下载辰思小说免费APP
Orlandostoodamoment，thenmovedtowardsthedoor。TheheavinessofhisstepsmoteuponOswald’searandcausedhimtoexclaim：”Forgiveme，Orlando。”Buttheothercuthimshortwithanimperative：”Thanksforyourcandour！Ifherspiritisdestinedtostandlikeanimmovableshadowbetweenyouandme，youdorighttowarnme。
Butthisinterviewmustendallallusiontothesubject。Iwillseekandfindanothermantosharemyfortunes；(ashesaidthisheapproachedsuddenly，andtookhispapersfromtheother’shand)
or-”Herehehastilyretracedhisstepstothedoorwhichhesoftlyopened。”Or”herepeated-ButthoughOswaldlistenedfortherest，itdidnotcome。Whilehewaited，theotherhadgivenhimonedeeplyconcentratedlookandpassedout。
Noheartfeltunderstandingwaspossiblebetweenthesetwomen。
Crossingthehall，OrlandoknockedatthedoorofDoris’littlesitting-room。
Noanswer，yetshewasthere。Heknewitineverythrobbingfibreofhisbody。Shewasthereandquiteawareofhispresence；ofthishefeltsure；yetshedidnotbidhimenter。Shouldheknockagain?Never！buthewouldnotquitthethreshold，notifshekepthimwaitingthereforhours。Perhapssherealisedthis。
Perhapsshehadmeanttoopenthedoortohimfromtheveryfirst，whocantell?Whatavailsisthatshedidultimatelyopenit，andhe，meetinghersofteye，wishedfromhisveryheartthathisimpulsehadledhimanotherway，evenifthatwayhadbeentotheedgeoftheprecipice-andover。
Forthefacehelookeduponwasserene，andtherewasnoserenityinhim；ratheraconfusionofunloosedpassionsfearfulofbarrierandyearningtumultuouslyforfreedom。But，whateverhisrevolt，thesecretrevoltwhichmakesnoshowinlookormovement，hekepthisgroundandforcedasmileofgreeting。Ifherfacewasquiet，itwasalsolovely；-toolovely，hefelt，foramantoleaveit，whatevermightcomeofhislingering。
Nothinginallhislifehadeveraffectedhimlikeit。Forhimtherewasnootherwomaninthepast，thepresentorthefuture，and，realisingthis-takingintothefullwhatheraffectionandhertrustmightbetohiminthosefearsomedaystocome，hesodreadedarebuff-he，whohadbeenthecourtedofwomenandtheadmiredofmeneversincehecouldremember，-thathefailedtorespondtoherwelcomeandthesimplecongratulationsshefeltforcedtorepeat。Hecouldneitherspeakthecommonplace，norlistentoit。Thiswashiscrucialhour。Hemustfindsupporthere，oryieldhopelesslytothemaelstrominwhosewhirlhewascaught。
Shesawhisexcitementandfalteredbackastep-amovewhichsheregrettedthenextminute，forhetookadvantageofittoenterandclosebehindhimthedoorwhichshewouldneverhaveshutofherownaccord。Thenhespoke，abruptly，passionately，butinthosegoldentoneswhichnoemotioncouldrenderotherthanalluring：”Iamanunhappyman，MissScott。Iseethatmypresencehereisnotwelcome，yetamsurethatitwouldbesoifitwerenotforaprejudicewhichyourgenerousnatureshouldbethefirsttocastaside，infaceoftheoutspokenconfidenceofmybrother：Oswald。
Doris，littleDoris，Iloveyou。Ihavelovedyoufromthemomentofourfirstmeeting。Nottomanymenisitgiventofindhisheartsolate，andwhenhedoes，itisforhiswholelife；nosecondpassioncanfollowit。IknowthatIamprematureinsayingthis；thatyouarenotpreparedtohearsuchwordsfrommeandthatitmightbewiserformetowithholdthem，butImustleaveDerbysoon，andIcannotgountilIknowwhetherthereistheleasthopethatyouwillyetlendalighttomycareerorwhetherthatcareermustburnitselftoashesatyourfeet。Oswald-nay，hearmeout-Oswaldlivesinhism
后续内容为VIP可读请开通VIP，或购买此章节
