I sat in frozen silence as he laughed again, bitterly. “What a coil! I had never loved anyone before, you know, and so I became very afraid – I knew I might cause Emelia to die, simply by caring for her. In the following weeks as she prepared to leave, I avoided her completely. I ran when I saw her coming, hid when I heard her voice, took care that we never exchanged a single word. “But fate – as I have told you – must have its own way. Which was why, on the night before she was to leave for her new home, Emelia sought me out. She had a soft heart, my sister. She wanted to speak to me at least once before she left. Seeing her then, being alone with her, I lost my noble ideas about protecting her, forgot how afraid I had been. I embraced her, and told her that I loved her – and when she understood what I meant, she looked at me, my dear Zahira, just as you are looking at me now, with horror and pity. She kissed me, just here” – he brushed his forehead with one gloved finger – “and told me that she wished me well.
