She broke the seal, and as she opened the letter, a flashing diamond ring fell out into her hand from the closely written sheet.
“It is the ring I gave her when we became engaged,” exclaimed St. George, taking it and kissing it in memory of that night, his heart thrilling with the memory of her beauty and sweetness as he kissed her good-bye beneath the drooping vines.
Alva read aloud, knowing how impatient they would be to hear the letter:
“‘Dear Miss Beresford—I have gone away because there is a secret I can no longer keep from you, and I know that when you learn it you will be glad I left you.
“‘I am the poor girl whose engagement to your brother so bitterly outraged the Beresford pride.
“‘When I first came to you I was very happy, because I fancied I might win your love, so that you would welcome St. George’s choice.
“‘But when you told me his story, although you seemed to take his part, it seemed to me that you sympathized with your parents and feared that your brother would be unhappy in the lot he had chosen. You said he would be so poor he would regret that he had sacrificed fortune for love’s sake.
“‘At first I did not believe it; I was resolved to cling to my lover, and put his constancy to the test.
“‘When you told me that your brother’s love affair was over, that you believed that your mother had persuaded him the girl was unworthy, I fancied you were glad.
“‘So I knew there was no use staying on for his return. His heart had turned from me, and he would be sorry to find me here.