my fault as much--more than
yours. Forgive me, Ada! Let us forget the past; let us begin our lives
from to-day--this hour! No, don't speak! It is not necessary to say a
word. Don't let us look back, but forward--forward! Ada, I love you! I
have loved you all along, but I was a fool and blind; but my eyes are
opened, and----Do you care for me? Or is it too late?"

She closed her eyes, and seemed as if about to fall, but he caught her
in his arms, and, with a sob, she hid her face on his breast, weeping
passionately.

* * * * *

Nell sank into a corner of the luxurious carriage, and stared vacantly
before her. The reaction had set in, and she felt bewildered and
confused. She was leaving Wolfer House "under a cloud." For all her life
one person, at least--Lord Wolfer--would deem her guilty of misconduct.
She shuddered and closed her eyes. How should she account to mamma for
her sudden return? Then she tried to console herself, to ease her aching
heart with the thought of the meeting, the reconciliation of the husband
and wife. She had not sacrificed herself in vain, not in vain!

What did it matter that the earl deemed her guilty? As she had said, she
was nobody, a girl for whom no one cared. She was going back to Shorne
Mills. Well, thank God for that! In six hours she would be home. Home!
Her heart ached at the word, ached with the longing for rest and peace.

She found that a train did not start until three, and she walked up and
down the station for some time, trying to forget her unhappiness in the
bustle and confusion which, even at the end of this nineteenth century,
make traveling a burden and a trial.

Presently she began to feel faint rather than hungry, and she went into
the refreshment room and asked for a glass of milk. While she was
drinking it a gentleman came in. She saw that it was Lord Wolfer, and
set down the glass and waited. The man seemed totally changed. The
sternness had disappeared from his face, and his eyes were bright with
his newly found happiness.

"Why have you come?" she asked dully.

"I had to," he said. "I--I wanted to tell you--you were right--yes, you
were right! I was blind. We were both blind! We are going abroad
to-day--together. She has asked for you--almost directly--almost as if
she--she suspected that you had brought us together! I told her that you
had been sent for by Sophia. I wish you were not going; I wish you were
coming with us!"