And he swore to himself that
he would be soft to her, and gentle, loving her with a love more
demonstrative than he had hitherto exhibited. He knew that he had been
stern, exacting, and sometimes harsh. All that should be mended. He had
learned her character, and perceived how absolutely she fed upon his
love; and he would take care that the food should always be there,
palpably there, for her sustenance. But--but he must try her yet once
more before all this could be done for her. She must pass yet once
again through the fire; and if then she should come forth as gold, she
should be to him the one pure ingot which the earth contained. With how
great a love would he not repay her in future days for all that she
would have suffered for his sake?
But she must be made to go through the fire again. He would tax her
with the possession of the missing deed, and call upon her to cleanse
herself from the accusation which was made against her. Once again he
would be harsh with her--harsh in appearance only--in order that his
subsequent tenderness might be so much more tender! She had already
borne much, and she must be made to endure once again.
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