It should have shamed him into honesty; but he was capable of trying to deceive the saints and the Virgin; he merely decided that she was in a fit frame to accept him.
"At last I have a faint hope of a sure and pure happiness," he said.

"I have found one who I know can strengthen me and comfort me, if she will.

I am seeking to be worthy of her.

I am worthy of her so far as adoration can make me.

I am ready to surrender my whole life--all that I am and that I can be--to her." Clara had begun to guess his meaning; the quick blood was already flooding her cheek; the light in her eyes was tremulous with agitation.
"Clara, you must know what I mean," continued Coronado, suddenly reaching his hand toward her, as if to take her captive.