quisite lily, with the anguish in her
deep eyes that she could not entirely hide. That, and the iron control
he had needed to put upon himself, making him seem grim and unfeeling
for fear one instant's weakness should make his longing arms enfold
her. Well, he had played his man's part as well as he could; ridden
away from her, disappointed her, openly avoided her, only in the end
to love her with the deep, wise, understanding, all-embracing love of
a man past his first youth, and with a wide knowledge of human nature.

And this engagement of hers to van Hert! What might it not result
from?... What hopelessness, what despair, what heroic resolve to play
her little part in the country's good, and win some satisfaction
perhaps, since she might not have happiness!

Standing silently at the window it all seemed to pass through his mind
with piercing clearness, and Ailsa's spirited attack rang still in his
ears: "First you will let your sad story come between you, then her
hateful gold, then your lowly position, answering to the call of your
own pride, careless whether it wreck her life's happiness or no."

Yes, she was quite right, it _was_ his pride. Even now the thought of
the gold was hateful to him.

Still, if some day he would indeed be the Marquis of Toxeter!... if he
could at least offer her a high position!... if it was no longer a
question of going to her empty-handed....

The silence continued, and in the background Ailsa waited and watched.
She could read nothing from the tall figure in the window, except that
his thoughts were far away and he was probing deeply. She leaned back
in a low chair, feeling suddenly very tired and overwrought. She had
come all the way from far Zimbabwe for this interview, just to say to
this man, before it was too late, the spirited things she had said.
And now?...

She looked round the den of the man who was her friend, and his, and
had helped her to win the interview, noting each trivial detail, each
attempt at decoration and hominess, each cunning substitute such as
every Rhodesian contrives out of his ingenuity for some trifle not
easily procured in that far land. And all the time she was tensely
painfully aware of that strong man in the window, and of the issues
that hung upon his decision. How, in the event of his deciding to
approach Meryl, the recognised fiance was to be treated, was beyond
her. She was too tired to probe further. She only cared that Meryl's
happiness s