He made a movement as if to quit his seat. She uttered a loud shriek, and raising herself half out of the bed, threw her arms round the friar to detain him.

“Oh! do not leave me! Listen to my errors with compassion! In a few hours I shall be no more; yet a little, and I am free from this disgraceful passion.”

“Wretched woman, what can I say to you! I cannot⁠ ⁠… I must not⁠ ⁠… But live, Matilda! Oh! live!”

“You do not reflect on what you ask. What? Live to plunge myself in infamy? To become the agent of hell? To work the destruction both of you and of myself? Feel this heart, Father!”

She took his hand: confused, embarrassed, and fascinated, he withdrew it not, and felt her heart throb under it.