“Please don’t mention it; any one would have done as much under the circumstances,” he protested, adding, “and that without the hope of reward.”
She knew what he meant, or thought she did, and steeled herself to lead him on.
“I think we all expect rewards of some kind for our good deeds, and we usually get them, don’t we?”
“Rather oftener than we deserve, I think. But I missed mine.”
Dorothy had prayed for this opportunity, and for strength to improve it, but she had to turn away from him before she could go on.
“Sometimes we think we have lost things when we have only overlooked them,” she ventured; then, brushing aside the figure of speech, she went straight to the heart of the matter. “Mr. Brant, why don’t you come to see us any more?”
From the personal point of view it was the cruelest of questions, but she was determined to secure her own safety and Isabel’s happiness by forcing his confidence, and she knew no better way to do this. Nevertheless, she was wholly unprepared for his reply.
“For the best of reasons, Miss Langford: I have been forbidden the house.”
It seemed incredible that he should put such a harsh construction upon Isabel’s refusal, and Dorothy was bewildered. “But I don’t understand,” she began. “Surely——”
“One moment, please. Do you believe in repentance?”