mother.
I could see even in the way she looked at me that it was of my mother he
was thinking, and I remember, in answer to her question whether I liked
the garden, saying I thought it was quite beautiful and so peaceful!

She said, "That is what I feel, the peace of it all. But you, dear
Betty, are too young to feel that. It is as we grow older that the
promise of peace holds out so much. But to the young, life is before
them!"

All that, I remember quite clearly, and a little more. I can still see
Lady Mary, so beautiful, so calm, so confident in the peace which the
future held for her. Then all of a sudden came these words, "Betty, I
liked your hero so much; what happened?"

It was a too sudden opening of prison doors. I was blinded by the light.
I could say nothing. My secret, I felt, was wrested from me. I had
ceased almost to try to hide it, it seemed so safe. What--could I say?

Lady Mary went on: "It is not from curiosity that I ask, but from a very
real and deep interest. Your dear mother used so often to talk of your
future. Her love for you was very wonderful, Betty."

I looked away to the purple hills and longed to escape, but she laid her
hand on mine with a gentle pressure. "I liked him so much. His gentle
chivalry appealed to me; it is a thing one does not meet every day. Some
one, I remember, described him as being as hard as nails and full of
sentiment, which was a charming description of a delightful character
and a rare combination. All women, I think, would have their heroes
strong, and the sentiment makes all the difference in life. If it is
money, Betty dear, as I imagine it is, that must come right. It was
money?"

"His father got into difficulties, no fault of his own, that--and
friends made mischief."

"And he is helping his father," continued Lady Mary. "And while he is
doing that, he thinks he has no right to bind a woman."

How could I say when I didn't know? "Men make that mistake; they forget
how much easier it is for a woman to wait bound than to be free, not
knowing. They don't distinguish between the woman who wants to get
married and the woman who loves. Remember, Betty, how hard it must be
for him. I am not sure that his is not the harder part."

"If he cares," I said.

"I am sure he cares," said Lady Mary softly. "There are secrets that are
not mine, Betty, but there is one that is--the money shall come right. I
had been looking out for a hero for some time when I met you