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Marion, but I won't share you, or any part of you, with
anything or anyone. In a way I wish we could let Marion
have Craigwood and start together in a new house. How
would that please you?"
"I'd live anywhere," she said, "with you."
"I don't believe you'd dare say anything different, but
it's a relief to hear it, because I can't get out of
going abroad during the last week in September. That was
the object of my visit to town on Thursday to try and
get out of it but it seems I'm committed to the first part
of my job in the West Indies. They'll find someone else
to carry on later, but it will mean six or eight months'
travelling. Can you face it?"
Her eyes shone. "Will you really take me?"
"I won't go without you that's another thing T-ve
hiown for a long time. We'll make it our honeymoon and
get back to Craigwood next spring. Darling, you color
beautifully," he said teasingly. "Was it the mention of a
honeymoon? Don't be apprehensive, my sweet. I'll never
hurt or frighten you again."
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The flush receded as swiftly as it had risen. Pat did not
smile. She tamed away, saw the snug but unfamiliar room
and felt uneasiness and fear clogging her breathing.
"Simon, I v/ish we could go out. There's such a lot I
want to knov/ and this room is strange."
"And the darkness is friendly," he said. "I know how
you feel. But you'd get horribly wet." He came behind her
and murmured, "What is it... Elise?"
She nodded dumbly.
"You know me ... and yet you're still worried about
mat?"
"I didn't know you six years ago."
He took her shoulders and tamed her. "It's a longish
story. Come here, and try not to interrupt." He had her
comfortably in the circle of his arm before continuing,
"When I first met Elise she was twenty and in rather a bad
way. She'd lost her parents and hadn't a penny, and she
was totally unfitted for any kind of work. She was con-
vent-bred and was living with an aunt and uncle at the
coast, but she was frightfully unhappy and terrified of her .
relatives. I know now that her terror and misery were
Symptoms of a mental state, but I wasn't aware of it then.
She used to visit some people who lived near Dolbridge,
and that's how I came to be acquainted with her. She was
thin and pretty and terribly nervy, but with me she used
to relax." His hand closed more firmly over her shoulder.
"Don't tighten up. Pat, there's a dear. I've never told this
to a soul before and I'm not enjoying the telling of it now,
but you've a right to hear it. You do want the whole truth,
don't you?"
"Please go on," came her muffled plea.
"Good girl. Well . . . Elise was often a guest at Craig-
wood, and it wasn't long before rumors were going the
rounds. I didn't take them seriously because I hadn't any
intention of marrying Elise. ..."
"Is that true?"
"Would I lie to you? Of course it's true."
"But you loved her." .
"No, I'd grown fond of her, which is somewhat differ-
ent. I pitied her because she couldn't stand up to life and
I did try to save her a few knocks. Unfortunately, Marion
and my brother misunderstood the business, too, and inevi-
tably Elise came to regard herself almost as one of the
family. It became more and more obvious that she was
depending on me, and I didn't like the situation. If Max
had told me he was in love with her everything might
have turned out differently, but he's not the talkative sort
and he probably thought the same as the rest that I was
going to marry her." He paused. "That's how things were
when I was asked to take over in the Far East. I'd been
resting a few months and hoped my next job would be
nearer home, but I dedded to take it on. Elise was dis°
tressed."
"Was she in love with you?'9
"She isn't capable of love as you and I know it, but
she craved to belong to a home like Craigwood and to
have money and good clothes. You couldn't blame her
she'd had a tough time and she isn't built to stand much.
We had a bit of a scene over it, and after that I never saw
her again till the night she came to dinner, a few weeks
ago."
"But everyone thought you'd proposed to her and beeo
turned down."
"For your sake I'm sorry about that. Elise was nearly
hysterical, because it would look as if I'd left her flat, so I
gave her permission to reverse the facts. It didn't matter
to me then, and I didn't for a moment guess that all this
would be resurrected six years after. You musn't place too
much importance on that aspect of it, Pat. It served Elise's
Surpose and got her through a sticky patch with all flags
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