t I hoped--"

"_Hoped_!--Margot, is it possible that you have cared, too? It seems
too wonderful to be true.--I never dreamt of such amazing happiness. At
the best it seemed possible that you would be willing to give me a
hearing. I did not dare to write, but this time of waiting has seemed
as if it would never end..."

As he began to speak Margot faced him with candid eyes, but at the sound
of his voice, and at sight of the answering flash of his eyes, her lids
quivered and fell, and she shrank back against the cushions of her
chair. Astonishment overwhelmed her; but the relief, the thankfulness,
the rapture of the moment obliterated everything else. She gave a
strangled sob of emotion and said faintly--

"It--it has seemed long to me, too!"

At that he was on his knees before her, clasping her hands and gazing at
her with an expression of rapturous relief. "Oh, Margot, my darling,
was it because I was not there? Have you missed me? Not as I have
missed you--that is not possible, but enough to remember me sometimes,
and to be glad to meet again. Have you thought of me at all, Margot?"

"I--I have thought of nothing else!" sighed Margot. She was generous
with her assurance, knowing the nature of the man with whom she had to
deal, and her reward was the sight of the illumined face turned upon
her.

There, in a corner of a modern drawing-room, with a glimpse of a London
street between the curtain folds, Margot and George Elgood found the
Eden which is discovered afresh by all true lovers. Such moments are
too sacred for intrusion; they live enshrined in memory until the end of
life.

It was not until a considerable time had flown by that Margot recalled
the events of the earlier evening, and with them still another claim
held by her lover upon her gratitude and devotion. Drawing back, so as
to lift her charming face to his--a rosy, sparkling face, unrecognisable
as the same white and weary visage of a few hours back, she laid her
hand on his, and said sweetly--

"We went off at a tangent, didn't we? I don't know how we went off, and
forgot the real business of the evening; but I never finished thanking
you! You must think me terribly ungrateful!"

George Elgood regarded her with puzzled, adoring eyes.

"I haven't the least idea what you are talking about, but what does it
matter? What does anything matter, except that we love each other, and
are the happiest creatures on earth? Business, indeed