"You didn't go to the wedding?"
"I wasn't asked. They stepped off quietly, were married and sailed for Europe at once."
Gwen pondered over the information. "Before then what was happening to you? Had you decided to stick to your palette and brushes?" she asked presently.
"No. I had decided to do the other thing."
"Absolutely?"
"Absolutely."
"How miserable you must have been with a desk and counting house ever before your eyes. You were all alone, too, for your sister and the children were away. You poor boy!" Her voice was tender as she remembered that she had added to his unhappiness. "It is perfectly lovely," she went on, "to think that you don't have to sacrifice yourself."
"I shall be a poor man for a great many years, I am afraid," he said soberly.
"What of it? You are young, and it is worth everything to be able to follow the occupation you love best. 'The best use of your best powers' is how some one defines happiness, so you will be happy. Perhaps the new papa will send you abroad to study."
"Do you think I would go under such circumstances?" returned the young man fiercely.