"I am glad now."
He touched the pretty gleaming hair caressingly.
"I believe you are! And they said—oh, David!"
She caught his hand and pressed it to her cheek.
Then he saw that she had come to the threshold of her house of toys and stood looking out, trembling and frightened before the bigness of the real world. He was staggered by that. She had come to the door too late; for if she fared forth, she must go alone and untaught through a country whose loneliness he had known. He must save her from that. He could not give her the one thing which could companion her through those arid wastes. The tender protective impulse surged stronger to his aid.
Gently he sought to lead her back into her playhouse.
"Shirley, I have a confession to make. While you were gone St. Mark's decided to build. I submitted some plans and—they were accepted. Do you like my surprise?"
"Then you can go back to your profession. I am glad of that."
"It's a big commission, Shirley. Almost as big as St. Christopher's would have been. We'll be rolling in wealth—for us."
"You won't have to worry any more. I am glad of that, too."