She knew the man well by now; it was useless to attempt to shake his determination. When he had once made up his mind, it was like beating against an open door.
“Will you at least tell me this, to ease my suspense,” she said at length. “What you have discovered so far, does it tell against or in favour of Mr. Croxton?”
There was a perceptible pause before he answered. Caution was so ingrained in the man, his habit of carefully weighing every word, his dread of expressing an opinion before he was fully justified, had become so deeply rooted that he could hardly ever exhibit complete frankness. Optimism was, of course, a mood unknown to him.
“If certain nebulous suspicions which are slowly forming in my mind turn out to be correct, the result of my discoveries, so far, is rather in favour of Mr. Croxton.”
That was all she could get out of him for the present, all she would, in all probability, ever get out of him till he had fully and finally solved the Morrice mystery. It was not great comfort, but it was better than nothing.
The next day she went to Petersham, and received a warm welcome from her lover, whose heart had been aching for her during those weary days of separation. Small as were the crumbs of comfort which Lane had given her, she made the most of them, and heartened Dick considerably by her assurance that all would come right in the end.
“There are things about the man that irritate me—just an impulsive woman with more heart than head—his slowness, his caution, his dislike to speak positively; but I do believe in him, in his capacity, his ability. If the mystery is to be solved by human agency, I am convinced he will solve it.”
The lovers had a fairly happy day, considering the depressing circumstances. They took a long walk through busy Kingston, over the Thames glistening in the winter sunshine, to Hampton Court, where they had lunch at that best of old-fashioned hotels, the Mitre. They got back to Petersham late in the afternoon, and Richard’s kindly old nurse had a dainty tea ready for them. And too soon the hour of parting came and her lover put her in a taxi and kissed her fervently as they said good-bye.
“God bless you, my darling; need I tell you how I appreciate your faith in me? But for your visits, and I count the hours till you come, I think I should go mad. And yet I must not reckon on them. One day your uncle will forbid them.”
The steadfast girl smiled bravely. “We will talk of that when the time comes, my poor old boy.”