She checked an impulse to laugh, and did the tactful thing. As he got to his feet, she gazed at him with dear dove’s eyes, and said she—
“And now I will ask the pardon. O, I would ask anything, do anything for you, my lord, since learning—since learning——”
He tucked her arm within his, and they went on together.
And on the green, in the light of the fading lamps, Moll snivelled.
“What does this all mean? What mischief hast thou been up to, thou incorrigible one?” asked the fond fellow, her husband, as he held her.
“Not I, but Kit,” said the girl, and, with a tearful laugh, she produced the fetish, and held it up to his face.
“What!” said he, smiling. “Dost thou still carry that absurd imp about with thee?”
“Always, and wherever I go,” she answered solemnly. And then, with a sigh: “I think he is the only one my heart hath ever really loved—the first, as he shall be the last. There, don’t gloom, Jack, but kiss him—kiss him!”
[The End]