"Don't fret about it," she said gently. "The bitterness has passed, if, indeed, it ever existed, Ronnie. Gwendolen never meant to be unkind. Most people would have stayed on and pretended not to feel the strain; but I couldn't have done that. I would rather never see you again than live on strained terms with you now that you are married. That would be a pitiful ending to our long friendship, wouldn't it? No, no, cheer up. It will all work out beautifully; and I shall come and see you more often than you wish. I promise you that."
"But it is dreadful for you to be alone," he said.
"I have not been alone," she answered, and she told him about her strange meeting with Clifford Thornton and his boy.
Ronald pretended to believe that she knew they were there all the time, and that she had left his home deliberately.
"Don't be ridiculous," she answered gaily. "Life is only a series of chances, and this is one of them."
"And here have I been racking my brains to think how I might comfort you, Kath," said Ronald.
"Dear old fellow!" she replied. "Lonely people have to work out their own redemption."
"Are you very lonely?" he asked regretfully. It always pinched his heart to think that he had abandoned her.
"No, no," she answered, giving him a sudden hug, "scarcely at all, and then only for a few passing moments. Nothing that matters. And now tell me about business. For if you want the benefit of my advice about anything, now is your chance. I feel that my brains are in splendid condition this morning, and that I can settle the most momentous questions in five minutes. I always was quick, wasn't I?"