He knew that there was no love,--no love for that man to whom she had pledged her hand. He did not know, on the other hand, how strong, how unchanged, how true was her love for himself. Indeed, of himself he was thinking not at all. He desired to learn whether she would suffer, if by any scheme he might succeed in breaking off this marriage. When he had asked her whether she were to be married at once, she had shuddered at the thought. When he asked her why she had accepted her cousin, she had faltered, and hinted at some excuse which he might fail to understand. Had she loved George Vavasor, he could have understood that well enough.

He knew that there was no love for that other man. However, he did not know how unchanged and true was her love for himself. Indeed, he was not thinking of himself at all. He wished to learn whether she would suffer, if the marriage were prevented. But it seemed that she shuddered at the thought of the marriage.
