Pity kept Alexandra silent. To make that promise would involve an avowal of her own happiness. How could she do that in face of the misery in which her poor friend was sunk?
Maggy clutched at her hand.
"A ring!" she cried, fearfully. "On that finger—!"
"Oh, hush, dear! I—I'm quite safe. Believe me, Maggy."
"But what does it mean? You wouldn't wear a ring on that finger if—"
"Maggy, darling, it means that I'm going to be married."
Maggy sat up the better to look at her. One glance at Alexandra's clear, illumined face told her that in some wondrously blest way her future had been happily arranged. All thought of her own disaster temporarily vanished in the joy she felt for the safety of her friend.
"That's all right," she said with a sigh of relief. "Lexie ... have you got anything to eat?"
XLIV
Although she had eaten nothing since breakfast that morning, a few biscuits and the remainder of Mrs. Bell's brandy sufficed Maggy.