Yes! amiable, devoted, dearest Afy, I throw aside
these morbid feelings; you shall never repent having placed your trust
in me. I will be proud and happy of such a friend, and you shall be mine
for ever!'
A shriek broke on the air: he started. It was near: he hastened after
the sound. He entered into a small green glade surrounded by shrubs,
where had been erected a fanciful hermitage. There he found Sir Lucius
Grafton on his knees, grasping the hand of the indignant but terrified
Miss Dacre. The Duke rushed forward; Miss Dacre ran to meet him; Sir
Lucius rose.
'This lady, Sir Lucius Grafton, is under my protection,' said the young
Duke, with a flashing eye but a calm voice. She clung to his arm; he
bore her away. The whole was the affair of an instant.
The Duke and his companion proceeded in silence. She tried to hasten,
but he felt her limbs shake upon his arm. He stopped: no one, not even
a servant, was near. He could not leave her for an instant. There she
stood trembling, her head bent down, and one hand clasping the other,
which rested on his arm. Terrible was her struggle, but she would not
faint, and at length succeeded in repressing her emotions.
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