No, he would not have needed to turn clerk and earn his living. He would not have gone to Brackenhill to confess his poverty. He might never have discovered anything. Most likely he would long since have been Sissy's husband. Sissy seemed far away now. He had loved her—yes. Oh, poor little Sissy, who had clung to him! But what were these new feelings that thronged his heart as he looked at Judith Lisle? He stopped abruptly. What had he said?
Judith too looked at him, and grew suddenly calm and still. "You are very good," she said. "I should have been very lonely to-day if I had not had a friend. It has been a comfort to speak out what I felt, though I'm afraid I've talked foolishly."
"One can't weigh all one's words," said Percival.
"No," she answered; "and I know you will not remember my folly."
"At any rate, I will not forget that you have trusted me. You are tired," he said gently: "you ought to rest. There is nothing to be done to-night."
"Nothing," she answered hopelessly.
"And to-morrow, if there is anything that I can do, you will send for me, will you not?"
She smiled.
"Promise me that," he urged in a tone of authority. "You will?"
"Yes, I promise."