But thou knowest not my mind."
"Yea, Lady," said Agatha, smiling in despite of herself,
"that may well be."
Now the Lady turned from her, and went and sat upon a stool
that was thereby, and said nothing a while; only covering
her face with her hands and rocking herself to and fro,
while Agatha stood looking at her. At last she said:
"Hearken, Agatha, I must tell thee what lieth in mine heart,
though thou hast been unkind to me and hast tried to hurt my soul.
Now, thou art self-willed, and hot-blooded, and not unlovely,
so that thou mayst have loved and been loved ere now.
But thou art so wily and subtle that mayhappen thou wilt not understand
what I mean, when I say that love of this young man hath suddenly
entered into my heart, so that I long for him more this minute
than I did the last, and the next minute shall long still more.
And I long for him to love me, and not alone to pleasure me."
"Mayhappen it will so betide without any pushing the matter," said Agatha.
"Nay," said the Lady, "Nay; my heart tells me that it will not be so;
for I have seen him, that he is of higher kind than we be; as if he were
a god come down to us, who if he might not cast his love upon a goddess,
would disdain to love an earthly woman, little-minded and in whom
perfection is not." Therewith the tears began to run from her eyes;
but Agatha looked on her with a subtle smile and said: "O my Lady!
and thou hast scarce seen him! And yet I will not say but that I
understand this.
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