“Mary!” he called softly.
And, at the sound of his voice the girl, with a slight start and exclamation, turned and looked up at him. With a feeling of deep contrition he remarked her pale, tear-stained face, and the dark shadows under her splendid eyes, denoting mental worry and sleepless nights. Her first surprise over, she settled listlessly back again to her old dejected attitude, but never taking her great weary eyes off his face. Never a word had she uttered yet, but continued to gaze silently on the man before her with a forlorn, wistful expression that cut him to the very heart. Suddenly she began to speak, but her voice seemed to ring strangely lifeless and far away in his ears.
“Oh! ... and are you back again?” came the toneless accents, “to mock me with that handsome, cold face of yours? I was happy enough till you came into my life ... you who’ve laid yourself out to make me love you—for nothing, p’r’aps, except your own amusement ... ’tis through I am with happiness now, I guess ... would to God we’d never known each other.... Oh, go! ... go away, please!... I—I just can’t bear it....”
Before the infinite pathos of her hopeless look and bitter words the strong man shook with his emotion until speech seemed beyond him. For, remorse-stricken though he was, beneath her reproach he glimpsed the evidence of so great a love that he could only stand and regard her with awed amazement. Aye!—well he knew now, that come what would or could, all that love was his, and would be his forever. Suddenly he leaned forward with outstretched arms and struggling, heart-wrung words burst from his lips; a golden gleam from the sinking sun, just then, lighting up and intensifying the manly beauty of his strong, clean-cut features.
“Mary!” he cried hoarsely. “Oh, Mary, my girl. I’ve been thoughtless—I didn’t know!... forget—forgive!...”
Dazedly the girl stared for a moment at the imploring face of the man she loved, her misery-benumbed brain failing at first to grasp the significance of his impassioned appeal. Then a quick, joyful light of comprehension dilated her great weary eyes, and with an unsteady movement she arose from her seat on the stone and swayed towards him, sobbing in her throat. The next minute her round arms were about his neck, her eager lips sought his—and they were quite alone.
Long he held the overstrung girl in his arms, kissing and soothing her with every endearment that a man’s love can command in such ecstasies; smoothing her glorious hair and pressing his cheek to hers with whispered, broken words of affection until she became calmer, and her happy tears ceased.
Then, gently, he told her the news of his changed fortunes and, drawing forth the lawyer’s letter, bade the astonished girl read its contents.
“And now, my dear, I want you to read this, too,” he said. “You have the right to.”
And reverently he handed her the letter of his old dead benefactor, silently watching her face as she perused its contents. He saw the light gradually fade from her eyes, which commenced to fill with tears. Her lips quivered and she began to sob again softly, as she read on, rocking herself to and fro and making no attempt to hide her emotion. Presently she ended the missive and looked across at her lover with glistening eyes.