If you love him enough to trust
him with the whole of the rest of your life, you can surely trust him
over a twopenny-halfpenny little secret which, after all, has nothing
in the world to do with you. If you can't, do you know what it looks
like?"
She regarded him questioningly.
"It looks as though you suspected the secret of being a disgraceful
one--something of which Max is ashamed to tell you. Do
you"--sharply--"think that?"
"Of course I don't!" she burst out indignantly.
"Then why trouble? Possibly the matter concerns some one else besides
himself, and he may not be at liberty to tell you anything--he might
have a dozen different reasons for keeping his own counsel. And the
woman who loves him and is ready to be his wife is the first to doubt
and, distrust him! Diana, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. If my
wife"--his voice shook a little---"had ever doubted me--no matter how
black things might have looked against me--I think it would have broken
my heart."
Diana's head drooped lower and lower as he spoke, and presently her
hand stole out, seeking his. In a moment it was taken and held in a
close and kindly clasp.
"I'll--I'll marry him, Pobs," she whispered.
So it came about that when, two days later, Max took his way to 24
Brutton Square, the gods had better gifts in store for him than he had
dared to hope.
He was pacing restlessly up and down her little sitting-room when she
entered it, and she could see that his face bore traces of the last few
days' anxiety.
Pages:
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201