ful face bent over his mother's grave; then she turned
away with a bitter sigh. Perrin lifted his head; not a thing she
did, not a movement, not a sigh of hers ever escaped him.

"What is it?" he asked, in his low, kind voice, "are you fretting
still?"

"No, no, but it seems I can't forget quickly all that has passed."

She covered her face with her hands and shuddered. Perrin touched
her arm.

"Come and sit in the church porch," he said, "and tell me all about
it."

Still with her hands covering her face, she let him lead her to the
old stone seat in the grey porch. Presently, with an evident effort,
her hands fell from her face, and she clasped them in her lap.

"I am selfish," she said, "never once have I told you how sorry I
was to hear of your mother's death, it seems I could only think of
myself."

"I have understood all the time. I knew you would be sad for me.
But, of course, you could not help thinking most of yourself and of
what you have lost."

"Ah, how it hurts to hear you say that! Tell me, am I _very_ ugly! I
know I will get the truth from you."

"Ugly!" he repeated, "_ugly_, to me you are the prettiest woman in
Guernsey. Your hair, all growing again in dear little dark rings,
like the curls of a baby! Your eyes once more beautiful with long
eyelashes; your sad mouth! Ah, Ellenor, how can I speak to you like
this quietly! I love you more than ever! But I know it is useless!
Did you think I meant your _looks_ when I spoke of what you had
lost? Oh, no, I mean something else."

"What is it you mean?"

"That you have lost him you love, Dominic Le Mierre."

For a long while Ellenor did not speak: then she said wearily,

"But it seems to me I don't love him any more. It seems he killed my
love the night of _Les Brandons_. It was awful when he died. And all
I could think of was to get away from Guernsey and all the people I
knew. In Sark, I forgot about him a little. But now I'm back, it
seems I can't think of nothing else. I am so frightened of him.
Perhaps, some day, when I'm going by the road to Orvilliere, he'll
come back from the dead and laugh and jeer at me. Because, as for
him, he didn't love me no more after _Les Brandons_. No, I don't care
for him now. But I've no heart left, I am only tired, and oh, so
frightened of _him_!"

She looked at Perrin like a child asking for protection, and in an
instant his strong arm was round her. She drew a deep sigh of relief
and smiled a little.