"Yes, I think he will; and if all he says of her be true, I am sure she
will forget and forgive the past. Of course, you had some excuse, in
the mystery and doubt surrounding her at the time."

"Two hours you bin there," said Shoni, as they passed him in the yard.
"I wass just kom in to see if you wass all asleep. Good-bye, sir."

He touched his hat respectfully to the Vicar; and as he returned to the
house to dinner he muttered to himself several times:

"End of the world! I am sure of it! End of the world!"

[1] Poor fellow.

[2] Good-morning.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE VELVET WALK.

"Are you going out so late, dear?" said Mrs. Power, as she crossed the
hall, where Gwladys was reaching a wrap from some hooks on the wall.

"Yes, auntie, such a lovely evening--quite like spring; I can't resist
it. I will put on the cloak Valmai left, and I shall be quite warm."

"Yes, and the very image of her," said Mrs. Power, looking after her
through the glass of the front door.

It was one of those tender evenings that visit us sometimes at the
beginning of the year to remind us that spring is not far distant, and
to make us forget that the cold March winds are yet in store for us.
Gwladys drew the red hood over her head and walked briskly in the
direction of the lake, which lay buried in the fir wood behind the
house.

The path which led towards it was called "The Velvet Walk," being
overgrown with a carpet of moss. The sun had just set, and the pale
blue sky was cloudless and serene as on a summer evening; but here, in
the shadow of the trees, the darkness was falling fast.

Over the fir tree tops one golden star hung like a jewel in the sky.
Gwladys walked with face upturned and eyes fixed upon its sparkling
brilliancy, and so lost was she in admiration of its beauty, that she
was quite unconscious of a hurrying figure who followed close upon her
steps.

It was Cardo, who, as he walked along the drive towards the house, had
caught sight of a gleam of scarlet between the fir trees.

"Valmai!" he said, with a bound of the heart, and a flood of love and
happiness taking the place of the anxious doubts which had filled him
since his return home.

He hastened past the front of the house and entered "The Velvet Walk"
to find the scarlet cloak but a little way in front of him, and Valmai,
as he thought, walking with gaze upturned to the brilliant evening star.

"At last, my darling!" he said, but soft