"I'm sorry the course of things made us enemies. It was unavoidable," she said quietly.
Staffer made an impatient sign.
"I'm going away and it's very doubtful if I'll ever return; but I'd rather you didn't mention the matter until breakfast to-morrow. Then you can say I've gone to Edinburgh. Perhaps you can promise me that?"
"Yes. Don't you want to see Mother before you go?"
"No," Staffer answered thoughtfully; "it might be better if I didn't."
He broke off as the car came throbbing to the door; and Elsie followed him across the hall.
"If things had only been different," she said, "we might have been friends—"
Staffer did not seem to hear, for he jumped into the car and it rolled away. Elsie stood looking out into the darkness for a long time; then she shut the door and went slowly upstairs. She felt limp and bewildered now that the strain had gone; the one thing she realized clearly was that Andrew was safe.
Madge turned to her eagerly as she entered her room; but Elsie did not stop.
"They are all right, but I can't talk about it now," she said and passed on into her room, closing the door.