CHAPTER XL
The Ministering Angel
"Are you alone?" he managed to ask.
"Yes; Granddad went out early. He'll be back in an hour or so. He has been expecting to hear from you."
How sweet and fair she looked! There was no suggestion of the exotic beauty of Olga Petrovic; she adopted no artificial aids to enhance her appearance. Sweet, pure air and exercise had tinted her cheeks; the beauty of her soul shone from her eyes. She was just a child of nature, and to Dick she was the most beautiful thing on God's earth.
For a moment their eyes met, and then the love which Dick Faversham had been fighting against for weeks surged like a mighty flood through his whole being.
"I must go—I must not stay here," he stammered.
"But why? Granddad will be back soon."
"Because——" Again he caught the flash of her eyes, and felt that the whole world without her was haggard hopelessness. Before he knew what he was saying he had made his confession.
"Because I have no right to be here," he said almost angrily—"because it is dishonourable; it is madness for me to stay."