"It was perverse of me. I suppose it ought to have been—Paul."
"I wish it had been, with all my heart; and I confess I am puzzled about you two. How has he come to be 'Paul' within this last fortnight?"
"It is simply that we have made a compact. He knows now that he can never be anything more than—Paul—the truest friend a woman ever had."
"Poor fellow! So there are two of you wasted!"
"Is any real love ever wasted?" Honor asked so simply that Mrs Conolly kissed her again.
"My child, you put me to shame. It is clearly I who must learn from you. Now, go home; and God be with you as He very surely will."
Then with her head uplifted and her spirit braced to unflinching endurance, Honor Meredith went out into the blue and gold of the morning.