“May I,” he began at last—“don’t hesitate to say if you would rather not consent—may I keep this document for a day or two—nay, even less, a few hours would do?”
Frances coloured.
“Of course,” she said, “it is safer with you than with me. Keep it as long as you like, except that—I am naturally anxious to tell the others.”
He did not reply, a little to her surprise, but sat for a moment in consideration.
“Yes,” he said at last, “a few hours will be enough for me to take it all in. Can I see you again to-morrow? Do you mind telling no one else till then?”
“I will do as you think best,” she replied; “but how can I see you without fear of interruption? Oh! I know! Will you meet me at the church? I can easily get the key. I should like to show you the cupboard in the pew. I can be there quite early, and then we can settle about telling papa.”
“Thank you,” he said. “Yes, you will find me in the churchyard waiting for you.”
Frances rose to her feet. As they shook hands, she felt his eyes, the kindly grey eyes she had learnt to trust, fixed upon her with an expression she could not define, and, as she walked home slowly, the question as to what it meant came to add itself to the already existing whirl of thought in her brain.
“It was almost as if he were sorry for me,” she reflected, “whereas, I think I should be sorry for him. What strange minglings and revulsions of feeling I have had to go through in the last few weeks! I, whose life had hitherto been so monotonous. After all, how difficult it is to get at even one’s own real self! That afternoon when I first found out about Horace and Betty—was what I felt all a mistake? Was it only mortification? I begin to think so, and that there is no need for me to examine the wound—that there is no wound, scarcely a scratch! Otherwise could it have healed so quickly?”
The remaining hours of that day seemed interminable, and the next morning found her at the church gate, armed with the great key, some minutes before the time agreed upon. But, early as it was, Mr Morion was there before her, and together they made their way to the pew, where she pointed out the secret of the panel.