"
"She will leave you," said the Bishop. "If you tell her, she will
leave you."
"She loves me," said the Knight; and he said it with a tender
reverence, and such a look upon his face, as a man wears when he speaks
of his faith in God.
"Hugh," said the Bishop, sadly; "Hugh, my dear lad, you have but little
experience of the heart of a nun. The more she loves, the more
determined will she be to leave you, if you yourself give her reason to
think her love unjustified. The very thing which is now a cause of
bliss will instantly become a cause for fear. She will flee from joy,
as all pure hearts flee from sin; because, owing to your folly, her joy
will seem to her to be sinful. My son!"--the Bishop stretched out his
hands; a passion of appeal was in his voice--"God and Holy Church have
given you your wife. If you tell her this thing, you will lose her."
"I must take with me the dress she left behind," said the Knight, "so
that, should she decide to go, she may ride back fully robed."
The Bishop went again to the chest, raised the heavy lid, and lifted
out the white garments rolled together. At sight of them both men fell
silent, as in presence of the dead; and the Knight felt his heart grow
cold with apprehension, as he received them from the Bishop's hand.
They passed together through the doorway leading to the river terrace,
and so down the lawn, under the arch, and into the courtyard.
There Brother Philip waited, mounted, while another lay-brother held
the Knight's horse.
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