Yes; she was comforting him already, and though he did not know it, she did. He thought that she spoke but of the past, she knew that she was already bracing him for the future. And his smile assured her. And gently, cunningly, she continued to build out of the past.
“Oh, Hughie,” she said, “it was the funniest scene—dear old Sir Thomas told me, and then we called Peggy in, and I said, ‘Oh, Peggy, I’ve got consumption.’ And then I burst out laughing, and Peggy laughed too. We sat and roared.”
Hugh frowned at this.
“Peggy knew?” he asked. “She lied to me, then; that is what it comes to. She told me that she laughed when you told her what Sir Thomas said was the matter with you, so that I might think it was nothing.”
“Yes, dear,” said Edith, “she had already promised not to interfere. If she had—well, not equivocated to you, she would have lied to me. It was very awkward for her, but she did her best. It was a conspiracy——”
“Directed against me.”
“Yes, darling; directed against you. I have already asked your forgiveness, you know.”
Hugh looked round the room with mute, appealing eyes.
“Is it real?” he asked. “Is this horror real?”
Edith said nothing. He was not facing it yet with his best self; Hugh had better than that to give. She knew it would come, for it was there. And the infinite pity of love waited for it. When it came it would prove to have been worth waiting for. Soon he would speak words which came from her own heart. He would say what she felt, and more, what she sought to feel. There was more in Hugh than was, so to speak, accessible, unlocked in her own soul. The love-key would open it. All the wordless sensations, impressions, strivings, of this week when she had been alone with her secret knowledge were in him. The winter sun of the comfort she could bring to him would be blinded by a brighter light. It was he who was going to unveil it. Often and often, so she almost hoped, in the weeks and months that lay before them, she would have to light his candle of patience and hope. But all the time his sun would light her path.