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With that word he turned away, and went home to his own house. There his brother Austin found him in a trance, for Aurelius wished Dorigen's jewel more than he wished anything else on earth, and the thought that he could not get it made him so sad that he became dazed. Austin carried him to bed, and tried to soothe him in his grief and vexation.
No doubt wise men will say, 'All is for the best. But, oh Thou God, who makest the winds to blow, keep Thou my lord! And would to God that these black rocks were sunk in the deep for his sake! They slay my heart with fear." Dorigen's friends saw that the sea brought back her sorrow.
Dorigen heard him, but, instead of going to meet him, she buried her head deeper in her cushions and wept. Arviragus crossed the room to where she sat, and knelt before her. He drew her hands from her eyes and said, "Dorigen, what is it? Why dost thou weep like this, my beloved?" For a little time Dorigen's tears only fell the faster, then she said brokenly: "Alas, that ever I was born!
It was more than two years since she had seen him, and she had not heard of him since then. She started back when he greeted her. Before she had time to speak he said, "My lady, give me thy jewel." He saw Dorigen's face grow cold and angry, and said, "Think well lest thou break thy word, for, madam, thou knowest well what thou didst say.
When Dorigen's friends saw that she was less hopeless, they begged her to come and roam with them to drive away the last of her dark fears. This she did. Often she walked with them by the edge of the cliffs on which her castle stood. But there she saw the white ships and the brown barges sailing, one north, another south, to the havens for which they were bound.
When they found she would not be comforted, they spoke harshly to her, and told her that it was very wrong of her to kill herself with sorrow, when Arviragus hoped to come home again strong and famous. Then they began to comfort her again, and to try to make her forget her sadness. After a long time Dorigen's sorrow began to grow quieter.
I shall never trouble thee more. Farewell, farewell! thou truest woman and best that I have ever seen." Down on her knees, on the roadway, fell Dorigen to thank Aurelius. Her blessing followed him as he turned and left her. But how can I tell of Dorigen's return? She seemed to be treading on air. When she reached the room where her husband sat with his head sunk on his arms, she paused.
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