The Count of Monte Cristo

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elsewhere--have I not obeyed? And since I found means to enter this
enclosure to exchange a few words with you through this gate--to be
close to you without really seeing you--have I ever asked so much as to
touch the hem of your gown or tried to pass this barrier which is but
a trifle to one of my youth and strength? Never has a complaint or a
murmur escaped me. I have been bound by my promises as rigidly as any
knight of olden times. Come, come, dearest Valentine, confess that what
I say is true, lest I be tempted to call you unjust."

"It is true," said Valentine, as she passed the end of her slender
fingers through a small opening in the planks, and permitted Maximilian
to press his lips to them, "and you are a true and faithful friend; but
still you acted from motives of self-interest, my dear Maximilian,
for you well knew that from the moment in which you had manifested an
opposite spirit all would have been ended between us. You promised to
bestow on me the friendly affection of a brother. For I have no friend
but yourself upon earth, who am neglected and forgotten by my father,