“I think, if you were to deceive me, you would be the meanest and least
of men. I rely upon your honor.”
And then in a firm voice she began the account of her life, from that
fatal evening on which her father had said to her,--
“I have resolved, my daughter, to give you a second mother.”
The old dealer had taken a seat facing Henrietta, and listened,
fixing his eyes upon her face as if to enter into her thoughts, and to
anticipate her meaning. His face was all aglow with excitement, like the
face of a gambler who is watching the little white ball that is to make
him a rich man or a beggar. It looked almost as if he had foreseen the
terrible communication she was making, and was experiencing a bitter
satisfaction at finding his presentiments confirmed,--