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156 still remained hidden. With gentle force she passed her arm round his neck: "My own brother, are you ill?—you frighten me!"

Half unconsciously, he raised his head; and his cousin was startled to observe his extreme paleness, and the unnatural brightness of his eyes. She was herself shivering with the chill of the open lattice; but his hand, as she took it, was burning. Making a strong effort to appear unconcerned, Guido muttered something about the over-fatigue of the previous day.

"Now shame, dearest Guido! what can be the cause of untruth to me? when have we kept a thought from each other?"

Still he remained silent and confused; when Francesca, placing herself beside him on the window-seat, said, in tones of the most tender affection, "Guido, we are here alone, in a strange place,—orphans, with scarce a friend save each other; where may we place confidence but in ourselves? If we bar our love from our own hearts, where shall we ever find it again? Speak to me—to your own Francesca. What sorrow can you have that will not be a sorrow to me also?"

Hesitatingly and reluctant at first, but warmed into passionate expression as he proceeded, Guido at length detailed his interview with Mademoiselle