Miss Grey accompanied them to the door, leaving Nona and Lady Dorian alone.
Impulsively the younger girl kissed her friend. “I am so happy,” she whispered.
Lady Dorian walked away with her. “I understand, dear,” she returned. “The truth is Colonel Dalton and I knew each other very intimately in the past and I felt it might be pleasanter for us not to meet again. Naturally I did not dream of the seriousness of his errand. Some day I may tell you the whole story; now good night.”
Nona went on upstairs without replying and the next hour the three girls devoted to trying to console Mildred Thornton.
It was Barbara’s conviction that they would some day meet Brooks Curtis again. Then Mildred could repay his deceit by surrendering him to the British authorities. But Mildred had no wish to find the young man. If only he did no further harm to the Allies she wished that she might never see or hear of him again.
And the girls did not hear. Several months passed by and each day found them more and more absorbed in their Red Cross work.
Nona Davis did not mention Lady Dorian’s confidence. However, there was little she could tell. The older woman had simply explained that she had spent several years in England, where she and Colonel Dalton had known each other intimately.
But there was too much for the Red Cross Girls to do, they were living too full lives themselves to give more than passing thoughts to other persons.
When Dick Thornton had in a measure recovered he returned to London.
So the early part of the winter vanished. Now and then there came a lull in the fighting between the armies of northern France. Afterwards it would break out again with greater violence.