“Yes?”
She flushed. The truth must be told; and a desperate desire possessed her to tell it, to put it behind her, to face this man bravely and secure him as a friend. He would be hurt if she went away, leaving him to hear the story from another. She assured herself that he had never cared.
“Yesterday, Mr. Grimshaw, Lord Wilverley asked me to become his wife.”
“Ah!”
The sharp exclamation escaped him. Instantly she knew. As instantly he recovered himself. But telepathy had been established. He did care! He had always cared. Intuition revealed everything. Fate had ordained that they should meet just twenty-four hours too late.
“I accepted him,” she continued calmly, wondering at her power of dissimulation. “And that has consoled Mother tremendously. This morning she is another woman.”
“I wish you all happiness, Miss Chandos.” His voice was as calm as hers. “From the little I saw of Lord Wilverley, I can congratulate you with all my heart; and him.”
She walked back to the Manor with slow, reluctant steps. The brook that flows between maidenhood and womanhood had been passed.