In the first agony caused by Annabel's death Maggie had
vowed a vow to her own heart never, under any circumstances, to
consent to be Hammond's wife. In the first misery of regret and
compunction it had been easy to Maggie Oliphant to make such a vow;
but she knew well, as the days and months went by, that its weight was
crushing her life, was destroying her chance of ever becoming a really
strong and good woman. If she had loved Hammond a year ago her
sufferings made her love him fifty times better now. With all her
outward coldness and apparent indifference, his presence gave her the
keenest pain. Her heart beat fast when she caught sight of his face;
if he spoke to another, she was conscious of being overcome by a
spirit of jealousy. The thought of him mingled with her waking and
sleeping hours; but the sacrifice she owed to the memory of her dead
friend must be made at all hazards. Maggie consulted no one on this
subject. Annabel's unhappy story lay buried with her in her early
grave; Maggie would have died rather than reveal it. Now, as she lay
back in her carriage, the tears filled her eyes.
"I am too weak for this to go on any longer," she said to herself. "I
shall leave St. Benet's at the end of the present term.
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