CHAPTER TWOFor a moment Sir John was too astonished to move or speak.
He just stood looking at the old man as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt and that it was impossible to move.
Then he said in a voice which did not sound like his own,
“Did you say, Gavron, you want me to marry your daughter?”
“That is what I am asking of you,” Gavron Murillo answered, “and what I want more than anything else before – I die.”
“We have no wish for you to die,” Sir John said. “You know how much you mean to all of us. How can we possibly do without you?”
Gavron smiled.
“It comes to – everyone,” he replied. “We cannot evade it – however much one tries. I am dying, my dear John, but before I die I want to be sure that my daughter is protected from those who will attempt to steal from her the m
