And so, without further parley, he left her, striding away in his square, purposeful fashion without a backward glance.
Only when he was gone did it flash upon her that this--this--was her dream come true. All unknowing, wholly without intention, he had opened her eyes. And she knew that he loved her--he loved her!
CHAPTER XVII
THE LAST CHANCE
"It's a cruel world," complained Mrs. Sheppard. "Nothing ever goes right, and no one ever thinks of anybody but themselves." She wiped her eyes pathetically. "I'm sure I've always tried to consider others. And this is the result. In my hour of need I am forsaken by everybody."
"It's no good fretting," Maud said very wearily. "We must think what is best to be done."
She realized that her mother was in her most unreasonable mood, and she felt herself powerless to cope with it. Yet the situation had to be faced, and with a heavy heart she faced it.
"My dear, I've thought and thought till my brain refuses to work," said Mrs. Sheppard plaintively. "What is the good of it? You know as well as I that if Charlie refuses to help, all hope is gone. And you say he has refused."
"Yes." Maud was stooping over the kettle that she was boiling in her mother's bedroom. "He has refused."
"Unconditionally?" Mrs. Sheppard sent a sudden keen glance across at the slim, drooping figure and noted the weariness of its pose. "Maud, tell me! Unconditionally?"