u must.
It's the only thing. I thought it would come to that sooner or later."

"But it's more than that. I'm not well. I don't know what it is, but
I've never felt like it before, and it makes me more frightened than
I've ever been. To-night I've been more frightened."

But Lizzie was thinking.

"Has your grandmother told many people?"

"I don't know. I know nothing; that's what makes it so hard. It's all
had a climax to-night. There was an awful dinner at old Lady Carloes'
and it was so hot and stuffy that I nearly fainted. I had to leave. And
then, coming here ..."

Rachel began to tremble again and, creeping close to Lizzie, she held
her tighter.

"Lizzie ... in the cab coming here ... Francis ... I had such thoughts.
I couldn't have believed...."

Lizzie's eyes gazed out into the square, far away--not like a Pool
to-night, Mr. Breton. All hard and cruel and even the Nymph has no
softness.

She kissed Rachel. "It's the night, dear. When the weather's like this
it affects one. London's awful to-night. There'll be such a storm
soon."

"But it's worse, Lizzie. I seem to-night to have seen myself as I
am--more clearly than before. My priggishness--talking so much about
Truth and then--the things I do. Roddy, Francis, all the same. I've
treated them all badly. I've been true to no one. I'm no good...."

"Promise me, dear, that you'll tell him--your
husband--everything--to-morrow. Promise me."

"But Lizzie, perhaps----"

"No--no--no. Everything. To-morrow."

"He'll hate me. He'll----"

"No matter. You must. To-morrow."

Rachel was silent. Then she looked into Lizzie's face. "Yes," she said,
"I will."

Then, with a little sigh, she fainted.

V

When she rose to a realization of life again she was lying upon Lizzie's
bed and the storm had broken over the house. Lizzie was holding her
hand; the thunder roared. Coming with stealthy steps closer and closer,
sometimes to creep stealthily away again, sometimes to break, with
crashing splendour, upon their very heads.

The lightning flung Lizzie's bedroom into pale brilliance and was gone;
Life leapt into vision, then surrendered to the candle flare, then leapt
again.

Rachel smiled faintly. She felt around her and about her a great peace.
She knew that all her terror had departed; her one thought now was to
return to Roddy and tell him everything.

She sat up. "How silly of me to faint. It's a thing I've never done in
my life. How _did_ you get m