Duncan nodded assent and walked slowly toward the door. On the threshold he turned and looked at Marion. A feeling of admiration for the woman he had so misjudged prompted him to speak "Let me compliment your skill," he said. "I played that game with the assurance of an old hand and I lost. You were a novice, but you won."
CHAPTER XVI.
IN THE LIBRARY.
Roswell Sanderson was in the library writing. A week had passed since his departure for St. Louis, and a considerable accumulation of mail was absorbing his attention. He had arrived home that morning on an early train, and not caring to awake his wife had gone into the library to look over his letters. It was Sunday, and the measured patter of the raindrops on the window-panes seemed to forebode a cheerless day, while the dismal light, almost obscured by the lowering clouds and heavy window draperies, produced an air of gloom intensified, perhaps, by the unusual chill of the summer atmosphere. Roswell was alone, and as he wrote the scratching of his pen on the paper blended monotonously with the pattering raindrops. Perhaps half an hour passed. Marion entered the room and stood for a moment near the door. There was a fresher color in her cheeks, even in that dim light, and her eyes seemed to have lost their look of restless longing. As she watched her husband writing, a smile of mingled tenderness and sadness came to her lips. Then she walked softly on tip-toe to where he sat, and placed her hand gently on his shoulder.
Roswell looked up startled. "Why, Marion," he said, "I didn't expect to see you so early." Then, leaving his seat, he took both his wife's hands in his and kissed her.
"I am thankful you have come back," said Marion. "I have wanted you so much."
She placed her arms around his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder. There had been a tenderness in her voice which made Roswell's heart beat faster than it had ever done before. "Yes, dear," he said, "I have come back, and I think I have a surprise for you, too."
"A surprise," said Marion, looking up.
"Yes. Sit down and I will tell you all about it."