"Would you marry Roger in any case—whether I accepted Ralph or not?" she asked.
Nan lied courageously.
"I should marry Roger in any case," she answered quietly.
A long silence ensued. Presently Nan broke it, her voice a little sharpened by the tension of the moment.
"So when Ralph comes back you'll be—kind to him, Penny? You'll give him the answer he wants?"
Penelope's face was hidden by a curtain of dark hair. After a moment an affirmative came softly from behind the curtain.
With a sudden impulse Nan threw her arms round her and kissed her.
"Oh, Penny! Penny! I do hope you'll be very happy!" she exclaimed in a stifled voice. Then slipped from the room like a shadow—very noiselessly and swiftly—to lie on her bed hour after hour staring up into the blackness with wide, tearless eyes until sheer bodily exhaustion conquered the tortured spirit which could find neither rest nor comfort, and at last she slept.