And all this wondrous pomp of blossom
and fruit, of green leaves and rosy stems displayed against the
brilliant blue of the sea, like a garden in a fairy tale, intense and
fantastic as a dream.
'What a marvel!'
Donna Maria advanced slowly, no longer led by Delfina, who, wild with
delight, rushed about with no thought but for stripping the whole wood.
Andrea plucked up his courage.
'Can you forgive me?' he asked anxiously. 'I did not mean to offend you.
Indeed, seeing you so far above me, so pure, so unapproachable, I
thought that never in this world could I reveal my secret to you, never
ask anything of you, never put myself in your way. Since ever I saw you,
I have thought of you night and day, but without hope, without any
definite end in view. I know that you do not love me, that you never can
love me. And yet, believe me, I would renounce every promise that life
may have in store for me, just for the hope of living in a little corner
of your heart----'
She continued to advance slowly under the sun-flecked trees, while the
delicate tassels of pink and white blossom swayed gently above her head.
'Believe me, Maria--only believe me! If I were bidden at this moment to
give up every desire and every ambition, the dearest memories of the
past and the most flattering promises of the future, and to live solely
in the thought of and for you--without a to-morrow, without a yesterday,
without other ties or attachments, far from the world, lost to
everything but you, till death--to all eternity--I would not hesitate
for one instant.
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