She read it, and handed it back to me without a word. We were all watching her eagerly. She looked at me appealingly.
"Is it necessary," she asked, "for me to accept this money?"
"Tell us," I said, "exactly how you feel."
"I think," she said, "that if there is anyone from whom I have the right to accept all this money, I ought to know who they are. I do not want to be a burden upon anyone," she added hesitatingly, "but I would rather work every moment of the day—oh, I think that I would rather starve than touch this money, unless I know who it is that offers it."
I laughed as I tore the letter in half.
"Dear child," I said, resting my hand upon her shoulder, "that is what we all hoped that you would say!"
CHAPTER XII
Lady Delahaye sank down upon the couch against which I had been standing.
"Poor, bored man!" she exclaimed, with mock sympathy. "I ought to have asked some entertaining people, oughtn't I? There isn't a soul here for you to talk to!"