James Denton rose suddenly as she entered the door. He looked like a
ghost--he was so pale and haggard. Before she realized it, Faith
extended her hand, then she drew it back quickly with a sudden
revulsion.
"No, don't offer to shake hands with me," said James Denton, slowly. "I
am not fit to touch the hem of your garment, Miss Marvin."
Faith looked at him as he stood there, pale, hollow-eyed and dejected,
then with almost a cry she burst out impulsively:
"Oh, how could you do such a thing, Mr. Denton? How did you dare to
wrong that poor girl as you have? Don't you know that in so doing you
have branded yourself a coward?"
"So she has told you and saved me from doing so?"
Young Denton breathed a sigh of relief. He had come too late with his
awful confession.
"Yes, she told us, your father and me," said Faith, faintly. "Oh, it is
dreadful--dreadful; I can't understand it!"
"Neither can I," said James Denton, with a tinge of bitterness in his
voice. "I have never understood how I came to do it. I was a fool--an
imbecile--a lunatic, Miss Marvin. I married the girl without even
dreaming that I loved her."
Faith stared at him in surprise as he spoke the words. She was conscious
even of a flutter of happiness as she listened to the confession.
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