“You have nearly conquered him,” smiled Margaret. “He is merely trying to frighten you. How well I know him of old! He was always a wayward, headstrong, loving boy. As children we had our little quarrels through his overbearing temper, but he always acknowledged at last that he was in the wrong; I will say that for him, and it will be the same with you, Lady Elaine. He will come back to you and confess his faults; he will be so humble when he realizes that you refuse to encourage his caprices, and let us hope that the lesson will be a wholesome one.”
“But there was a strange look in his eyes that I have never seen there before,” Lady Elaine said, piteously. “Oh, Margaret, are you sure that your counsel is good? Are you sure that you understand this strange jealousy that has come between me and my lover?”
Miss Nugent replied confidently, and for a time her words carried consolation to the suffering heart.
“I know Sir Harold far better than I know myself,” she said. “I know the mood he is in exactly. Long, long ago, when we were children, he left one of his pet birds for me to feed and care for. Let me confess that I neglected it, and it died—poor, little thing. When my cousin came home his rage was terrible. I thought then that I should never be forgiven. He declared that he would never look upon me again—that he hated me. His passions are violent always. But he apologized a few days later, Lady Elaine, and he will come back to you in the same way. I am sure of it.”
Miss Nugent went away thinking, “I shall win Harold yet—I, who have loved him for years, and have the greatest right to him!”
The next morning’s post brought a letter to Sir Harold—a letter bearing the Seabright crest.
At sight of it his haggard face lighted up with sudden hope, and he kissed the dear writing tenderly; then he broke the seal and read:
Dear Harold—Much as I love you, I cannot sacrifice my self-respect by making the foolish promise you requested.
Elaine.
“My God!” he gasped, a stony glare in his eyes. “And so it has come to this! All is at an end!”