"Sonya?" he asked eagerly.
"Yep. Great, isn't it?"
Laurie stared at him.
"By Jove, you have been busy!" he conceded. "Between manufacturing a frame-up for me, and winning a wife, you must have put in a fairly full week even for you." His arm tightened round his chum's shoulders. "I'm delighted, old man," he ended, seriously. "Sonya is the salt of the earth. Tell her she has my blessing."
When he reëntered the room he found Doris standing in its center, waiting for him. Something in her pose reminded him of their first moments together in that familiar setting. She had carried off the original scene very well. Indeed, she had carried off very well most of the scenes she had been given.
"You'll be a big hit in the new play," he cheerfully remarked, as he came toward her.
"Laurie—" Her voice trembled. "You have forgiven the others. Can't you forgive me?"
"There's nothing to forgive," he quietly told her. "You saw a chance and you took it. In the same conditions, I suppose any other girl would have done the same thing. It's quite all right, and I wish you the best luck in the world. We'll try to make the new play worthy of you."
He held out his hand, but she shrank away from it.
"You're not going to forgive me!" she cried. "And—I don't blame you!"