“Have you told Marion about the new arrangement?”
“I didn't know whether you cared to have it told.”
“Don't you think she ought to know? If she intends to enter the family, she has a right to know that she is not marrying into great wealth. I don't suggest,” he added, as Graham colored hotly, “that it will make any difference. I merely feel she ought to know your circumstances.”
He was called to the telephone, and when he came back he found them in earnest conversation. The girl turned toward him smiling.
“Graham has just told me. You are splendid, Mr. Spencer.”
And afterward Clayton was forced to admit an element of sincerity in her voice. She had had a disappointment, but she was very game. Her admiration surprised him. He was nearer to liking her than he had ever been.
Even her succeeding words did not quite kill his admiration for her.
“And I have told Graham that he must not let you make all the sacrifices. Of course he is going to enlist.”
She had turned her defeat into a triumph against Natalie. Clayton knew then that she would never marry Graham. As she went out he followed her with a faint smile of tribute.
The smile died as he turned to go up the stairs.