Page 325 - AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

Around the World in 80 Days

About half-past seven in the evening Mr. Fogg sent to
know if Aouda would receive him, and in a few moments
he found himself alone with her.
Phileas Fogg took a chair, and sat down near the

fireplace, opposite Aouda. No emotion was visible on his
face. Fogg returned was exactly the Fogg who had gone
away; there was the same calm, the same impassibility.
He sat several minutes without speaking; then, bending
his eyes on Aouda, ‘Madam,’ said he, ‘will you pardon me
for bringing you to England?’
‘I, Mr. Fogg!’ replied Aouda, checking the pulsations of
her heart.
‘Please let me finish,’ returned Mr. Fogg. ‘When I
decided to bring you far away from the country which
was so unsafe for you, I was rich, and counted on putting
a portion of my fortune at your disposal; then your
existence would have been free and happy. But now I am
ruined.’
‘I know it, Mr. Fogg,’ replied Aouda; ‘and I ask you in
my turn, will you forgive me for having followed you,
and—who knows?—for having, perhaps, delayed you, and
thus contributed to your ruin?’

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