him before his wounds had healed would cause more
misery to her by the shock than happiness to him by her ministrations.

Lady Grebe blurted out what Sir John and Barbara had thought, but had had
too much delicacy to express.

'Sure, 'tis mighty hard for you, poor Barbara, that the one little gift
he had to justify your rash choice of him--his wonderful good
looks--should be taken away like this, to leave 'ee no excuse at all for
your conduct in the world's eyes . . . Well, I wish you'd married
t'other--that do I!' And the lady sighed.

'He'll soon get right again,' said her father soothingly.

Such remarks as the above were not often made; but they were frequent
enough to cause Barbara an uneasy sense of self-stultification. She
determined to hear them no longer; and the house at Yewsholt being ready
and furnished, she withdrew thither with her maids, where for the first
time she could feel mistress of a home that would be hers and her
husband's exclusively, when he came.

After long weeks Willowes had recovered sufficiently to be able to write
himself; and slowly and tenderly he enlightened her upon the full extent
of his injuries. It was a mercy, he said, that he had not lost his sight
entirely; but he was thankful to say that he still retained full vision
in one eye, though the other was dark for ever. The sparing manner in
which he meted out particulars of his condition told Barbara how
appalling had been his experience. He was grateful for her assurance
that nothing could change her; but feared she did not fully realize that
he was so sadly disfigured as to make it doubtful if she would recognize
him. However, in spite of all, his heart was as true to her as it ever
had been.

Barbara saw from his anxiety how much lay behind. She replied that she
submitted to the decrees of Fate, and would welcome him in any shape as
soon as he could come. She told him of the pretty retreat in which she
had taken up her abode, pending their joint occupation of it, and did not
reveal how much she had sighed over the information that all his good
looks were gone. Still less did she say that she felt a certain
strangeness in awaiting him, the weeks they had lived together having
been so short by comparison with the length of his absence.

Slowly drew on the time when Willowes found himself well enough to come
home. He landed at Southampton, and posted thence towards Yewsholt.
Barbara arranged to go out to meet him as