Footsteps entered, traversed the entry, and began to mount the stairs.

How I detested the folly of not pursuing the man when he withdrew, and bolting after him the outer door! Might he not conceive this omission to be a proof that my angel had deserted me, and be thereby fortified in guilt?
Every step on the stairs, which brought him nearer to my chamber, added vigor to my desperation.

The evil with which I was menaced was to be at any rate eluded.

How little did I preconceive the conduct which, in an exigence like this, I should be prone to adopt.

You will suppose that deliberation and despair would have suggested the same course of action, and that I should have, unhesitatingly, resorted to the best means of personal defence within my power.