"I will. Oh, mother, how happy you have made me! I wish I had told you before; I might have known you would have forgiven me. And I did want to tell you. The night father went I was so miserable that I could not sleep. I saw a light burning under Dora's door, and I thought I'd get up and go to her. But she was busy writing out something, and didn't want to listen to me, and so I came away without saying a word."
He did not know that as he began speaking, the door quietly opened and Dora entered, nor did he notice the low, instantly checked cry that escaped her lips as she heard his confession with regard to herself. Neither did he see that his mother lifted a warning hand, and that, in obedience to its next movement, Dora left the room.
"You will never be afraid of me again, Robert?" she said then, as she bent nearer to him.
"Never. Please say again that you forgive and love me still. It is so sweet to hear it."
What a mother he had! Not a word of reproach had she spoken; only in loving, earnest accents had she told him of her love, and assured him of her pardon. And even as she had forgiven him so would God. So not only in that little room was there joy, but in heaven also, for a sinner had repented; and like a child that is sick of its naughtiness and perversity, Robert, with a calm, happy face, lay back on his pillow, and was soon sleeping as peacefully as an infant.
But in an adjoining room, Dora was sobbing as though her heart would break. Yes, it was as Robert had said. She might have known he was in trouble that night, and needed her sympathy; and she remembered her feeling of irritation and annoyance when he had interrupted her at her work. No wonder her manner had prevented him from confessing his sin and getting the relief for which he longed. Had she listened, he would probably never have gone skating again, and he would have been saved the disastrous results of his visit to Hendon. How differently would she act if the past could but be lived over again.
Alas! Dora's sorrow ended here! For a few days she reproached herself bitterly, but her constant round of occupations left her little time for thought. As soon as she was assured that Robert was recovering, the circumstance lost its importance, and was gradually forgotten.
