The bonfire before her was burning low in spite of the wind which had just begun to blow and promised to freshen. She stayed beside it, watching, until all but Carthew were gone. And then she turned to him, the tears very near her eyes and her starved heart almost satisfied.
"Oh, Mr. Carthew," she said timidly, "I wanted to tell you at once how sorry I am about—everything. I had no idea at all, when you told me on the Olive Branch—"
"Of course not," said Justin Carthew concisely.
"And Mr. Jobling was so—abrupt; and—I didn't know what to do. Won't you please forgive me; I had no idea—"
"I was pretty much taken aback myself," said Justin Carthew, and laughed a little, though not very merrily. "But—I'm all right again now. And you mustn't worry about me, please. I'm all right, again, and—"
"You'll wait for a little?" she interrupted, she was so eager to reassure him. "I can't help being who I am, but—if you will only wait for a little, everything will turn out all right for you, too."
She could see that he was puzzled.
"I can't explain," she went on hurriedly, afraid that he would demand explanation. "But I want you to give me a little time, if you will. I want you not to go away. If you will just wait—for only three months—everything will turn out all right for you in the end."
"But—how—" he was beginning, when she cut him short again.
"I can't explain," she repeated. "Only—you once promised that I might ask you to do anything I wanted. Will you not just wait here, and trust me—for only three months? And then you'll understand."