Page 184 of A Question of Character

“You... cannot?”

She shook her head.

Tears gathered despite her efforts to master them.

“I have wished for this since we met.”

“Then why?”

The question emerged hoarsely.

She lifted her eyes.

“Because I cannot build a marriage upon a matter that will poison us both.”

His grip loosened.

“I do not understand.”

“You have judged a man without allowing for the possibility that he can be different.”

The words came steadily now, though tears slipped unchecked down her cheeks.

“All I asked of you was to speak with Mr. Wickham.”

He closed his eyes briefly.

“Elizabeth...”

“To try.”

“I know.”

“You would not.”

“I believed—”

“I know what you believed.”

She drew one trembling breath.

“I have never asked you to become his friend.”

“No.”

“I never asked you to declare him innocent.”

“No.”

“I begged you to hear him.”

Silence sat between them.

A crow called somewhere across the meadow.

Elizabeth brushed impatiently at her tears.

“I cannot promise to obey a husband whose first impulse is a stubborn belief in his perception before seeking understanding.”