s silent.

"Tell me so," he said, stretching out his hand to her, and looking at
her attentively, "and I will tell you the reason of my week's silence."

"I have no need to tell you so," she answered, in a suppressed voice.
"And if I did you would not trust me."

"No," he said, drily, "perhaps not; but promise me, all the same, that
under no circumstances will you ever marry Brian Luttrell."

"I promise," she said, in a low tone of humiliation. Her eyes were full
of tears. "And now let me go, Percival. I cannot stay with you--when you
say that you trust me so little."

He had taken advantage of her rising to seize her hand. He now tossed
his cigar into the fire, and rose, too, still holding her hand in his.
He looked down at her quivering lips, her tear-filled eyes, with
gathering intensity of emotion. Then he put both arms round her, pressed
her to his breast with passionate vehemence, and kissed her again and
again, on cheek, lip, neck, and brow. She shivered a little, but did not
protest.

"There!" he said, suddenly putting her away from him, and standing erect
with the black frowning line very strongly marked upon his forehead. "I
will tell you now why I did not try to keep Brian Luttrell in England. I
knew that I ought to make a row about it. I knew that I was bound in
honour to write to Colquhoun, to you, to Mrs. Luttrell, to any of the
people concerned. And I didn't do it. I didn't precisely mean not to do
it, but I wanted to shift the responsibility. I thought it was other
people's business to keep him in England: not mine. As a matter of fact,
I suppose it was mine. What do you say?"

"Yes," said Elizabeth, lifting her lovely, grieved eyes to his stormy
face. "I think it was partly yours."

"Well, I didn't do it, you see," said Percival. "I was a brute and a
cad, I suppose. But it seemed fatally easy to hold one's tongue. And now
he has gone to America."

"But he can be brought back again, Percival."

"If he will come. I fancy that it will take a strong rope to drag him
back. You want to know the reason for my silence? It isn't far to seek.
Brian Luttrell and the tutor, Stretton, who fell in love with you, were
one and the same person. That's all."

And then he walked straight out of the room, and left her to her own
reflections.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

PERCIVAL'S ATONEMENT.

Percival felt a decided dread of his next meeting with Elizabeth. He
could not guess what would be the effect of his i