Hear what I have to say ; and then if you offer me your hand , I shall gratefully receive it . '' She glanced at him , and saw that he was very pale , that his eye glittered with suppressed excitement , and his whole manner was that of a man who had nerved himself up to the performance of a difficult but intensely interesting task . Fancying these signs of agitation only natural in a young lover coming to woo , my lady smiled , reseated herself , and calmly answered , `` I will listen patiently . Speak freely , Paul , and remember I am an old friend . '' `` I wish I could forget it . Then my task would be easier , '' he murmured in a voice of mingled regret and resolution , as he leaned on a tall chair opposite and wiped his damp forehead , with a look of such deep compassion that her heart sank with a nameless fear . `` I must tell you a long story , and ask your forgiveness for the offenses I committed against you when a boy . A mistaken sense of duty guided me , and I obeyed it blindly . Now I see my error and regret it , '' he said earnestly . `` Go on , '' replied my lady , while the vague dread grew stronger , and she braced her nerves as for some approaching shock . She forgot Lillian , forgot everything but the strange aspect of the man before her , and the words to which she listened like a statue . Still standing pale and steady , Paul spoke rapidly , while his eyes were full of mingled sternness , pity , and remorse . `` Twenty years ago , an English gentleman met a friend in a little Italian town , where he had married a beautiful wife . The wife had a sister as lovely as herself , and the young man , during that brief stay , loved and married her -- in a very private manner , lest his father should disinherit him . A few months passed , and the Englishman was called home to take possession of his title and estates , the father being dead . He went alone , promising to send for the wife when all was ready . He told no one of his marriage , meaning to surprise his English friends by producing the lovely woman unexpectedly . He had been in England but a short time when he received a letter from the old priest of the Italian town , saying the cholera had swept through it , carrying off half its inhabitants , his wife and friend among others . This blow prostrated the young man , and when he recovered he hid his grief , shut himself up in his country house , and tried to forget . Accident threw in his way another lovely woman , and he married again .
Before the first year was out , the friend whom he supposed was dead appeared , and XXXXX him that his wife still lived , and had borne him a child .
Fancying disinherit grew guided married murmured remember tell told went