"'I have not been here before.'
"'How can you tell me what you know is false?' I cried. 'Your very voice changes as you speak. When have I ever had a secret from you? I shall enter that cottage, and I shall probe the matter to the bottom.'
"'No, no, Jack, for God's sake!' she gasped, in uncontrollable emotion. Then, as I approached the door, she seized my sleeve and pulled me back with convulsive strength.
"'I implore you not to do this, Jack,' she cried. 'I swear that I will tell you everything some day, but nothing but misery can come of it if you enter that cottage.' Then, as I tried to shake her off, she clung to me in a frenzy of entreaty.
"'Trust me, Jack!' she cried.
Trust me only this once.
You will never have cause to regret it.
You know that I would not have a secret from you if it were not for your own sake.
Our whole lives are at stake in this.
If you come home with me, all will be well.