Lewis nodded.
"There are people that think of dad as a bad man. He has told me so. But he wasn't bad to me or to H lne or Nelton or Old William, and we're the ones that knew him best."
For a time they were silent, then Natalie said: "Lew, you're older than you ever were before. Is it just losing your dad?"
Lewis shook his head.
"No," he said, "it wasn't that. I finished growing up just after I got back to London. I'm not the only thing that has grown. My work—sometime I'll show you my work before and after. I wish I could have shown it to dad,—I wish I could have told him that I've said good-by to Folly."
"Good-by to Folly?" cried Natalie, with a leap of the heart. Then her heart sank back. "You mean you've said good-by to foolishness, to childish things?"
"Both," said Lewis. "Folly Delaires and childish things."
"Why?" asked Natalie, shortly.
"Because," said Lewis, "it was given me to see her through and through."
"And now?" breathed Natalie, drawing slightly away from him lest he hear the thumping of her heart.