THE STEADFAST HEART
happiness, perhaps, but not surrender. She would not give in to her love. Never would she bind herself to Angus Burke; never would she become a part of his life, mistress of his home…. That her will could accomplish. She foresaw distress, wretchedness, but better that than a surrender of high principles—better than to degrade the family blood which was hers in sacred trust…. Hers was the attitude of a fanatic—and for that reason the more formidable.
There were hours when she was afraid; when she trembled for the strength of her resolution. Sometimes her yearning for Angus was so great as to be almost beyond her power of repression. She determined to go away, to seek safety in flight… to find some means—to hit upon some device which would make it impossible for her to give way to her love….
In her calmer moments she was surprised, in analyzing her feelings toward Angus, to find that, mingled and interwoven with them, was a sincere admiration—an admiration for his character, for his person, for his accomplishments. She was conscious of pride in him, and in what he had become…. The fact of his squalid origin but added to this pride…. She was unable to understand this phenomenon…. It added to her fears.
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