"You have not," returned her companion, almost defiantly. "I know he is true blue. I will not think anything else."
So Dorothy told her lover her story, "looking straight into his eyes," when he came to her that evening, keeping nothing back, nor trying to gloss anything over; and when she was done, like the true-hearted man he was, Clifford Alexander gathered her into his arms, murmuring fondly:
"Sweetheart, put it all out of your mind; never give it another anxious thought, for it belongs among the shades of the dim past, and the present and the future are all that concern us now. Just know that I love you for what you are, and that I honor your mother for the noble woman that she is. She has shown wonderful fortitude during all these years, and deserves the highest esteem of every one. As for your—that man—whether he be living or dead, he has passed forever out of your life; so be happy, dearest, and let none of these memories ever cloud your dear eyes again, or cause your dear heart a single tremor."
"Clifford! Clifford!" tremulously breathed Dorothy, while she clung to the strong arm enfolding her. "I knew you would not fail me."
But she was quivering in every nerve with repressed excitement, from the reaction produced by the blessed assurance of his unimpeachable loyalty, the unfailing love that was the light of her life, and had safely weathered this crucial hour.
"Fail you, Dorothy!" he repeated, surprise and reproof blending in his tones. "Could I fail to cling to what is my very life? I am glad you told me, however; it shows the confidence you repose in me, and proves your absolute integrity," he concluded, with a smile that made her thrice glad she had not been tempted to withhold the truth from him.
Helen's troubled heart was also set at rest, when, later, they sought her with radiant faces, and Clifford delicately yet feelingly referred to her early trials, and earnestly begged that she would allow him to be to her, through all her future, a son in truth as well as in name.
Thus, with all fear regarding Dorothy's future forever dispelled, as she fondly believed, she joyfully resumed her preparations for their approaching union.