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At exactly eleven Sir Percival knocked and entered, with anxiety and worry in every line of his face. This meeting would decide his future life, and he obviously knew it.
"You may wonder, Sir Percival,"said Laura calmly, "if I am going to ask to be released (免除）from my promise to marry you. I am not going to ask this. I respect my father's wishes too much. "
His face relaxed a little, but one of his feet kept beating the carpet.
"No, if we are going to withdraw(退出）from our planned marriage, it will be because of your wish, not mine."
"Mine?"he said in great surprise. "What reason could I have for withdrawing?"
"A reason that is very hard to tell you,"she answered. "There is a change in me. "
His face went so pale that even his lips lost their color. He turned his head to one side.
"What change?"he asked, trying to appear calm.
"When the promise was made two years ago", she said, "my love did not belong to anyone. Will you forgive me, Sir Percival, if I tell you that it now belongs to another person?"
"I wish you to understand", Laura continued, "that I will never see this person again, and that if you leave me, you only allow me to remain a single woman for the rest of my life. All I ask is that you forgive me and keep my secret."
"I will do both those things, "he said. Then he looked at Laura, as if he was waiting to hear more.
"I think I have said enough to give you reason to withdraw from our marriage," she added quietly.
"No. You have said enough to make it the dearest wish of my life to marry you," he said.
