The girl stood still and met his gaze, though, dim as the light was, the man could see the crimson in her cheeks.
"Yes," she said, very quietly.
"Then," said Winston, with a little smile, though the fingers on the door quivered visibly, "I think the audacity you once mentioned must have returned to me, for I am going to make a very great venture."
For a moment Maud Barrington turned her eyes away. "It is the daring venture that most frequently succeeds."
Then she felt the man's hand on her shoulder, and, that he was compelling her to look up at him.
"It is you I came for," he said quietly. "Still, for you know the wrong I have done, I dare not urge you, and have little to offer. It is you who must give everything, if you can come down from your station and be content with mine."
"One thing," said Maud Barrington, very softly, "is, however, necessary."
"That," said Winston, "was yours ever since we spent the night in the snow."
The girl felt his grip upon her shoulder grow almost painful, but her eyes shone softly when she lifted her head again.
"Then," she said, "what I can give is yours--and it seems you have already taken possession."