ove you?" she said, silently, to him, as he
kissed her hand.

When he had left her a gleam of comfort came to her, the only gleam that
lightened the days and nights that followed. It was not his fault if he
had made a half-confession. If he had gone on, and had told her of the
drawing of lots, and which had drawn the fatal lot, he would have been
wanting in sense of honor. He owed it to the man he had injured to
preserve entire secrecy.

"He told me of the sin which might affect my marrying him," said Rachel,
"but the rest had nothing to do with me. He was right not to speak of
it. If he had told me, and then a few days afterwards Lord Newhaven had
committed suicide, he would know I should put two and two together, and
who the woman was, and the secret would not have died with Lord Newhaven
as it ought to do. But if Hugh were the man who had to kill himself, he
might have told me so without a breach of confidence, because then I
should never have guessed who the others were. If he were the man he
could have told me, he certainly _would_ have told me, for it could have
done no harm to any one. Surely Lady Newhaven must be right when she was
so certain that her husband had drawn the short lighter. And she herself
had gained the same impression from what Hugh had vaguely said at
Wilderleigh. But what are impressions, suppositions, except the food of
suspense." Rachel sighed, and took up her burden as best she could.
Hugh's confession had at least one source of comfort in it, deadly cold
comfort if he were about to leave her. She knew that night as she lay
awake that she had not quite trusted him up till now, by the sense of
entire trust and faith in him which rose up to meet his self-accusation.
What might have turned away Rachel's heart from him had had the opposite
effect. "He told me the worst of himself, though he risked losing me by
doing it. He wished me to know before he asked me to marry him. Though
he acted dishonorably once he is an honorable man. He has shown himself
upright in his dealing with me."

Hugh came back no more after that evening. Rachel told herself she knew
why--she understood. He could not speak of love and marriage when the
man he had injured was on the brink of death. Her heart stood still
when she thought of Lord Newhaven, the gentle, kindly man who was almost
her friend, and who was playing with such quiet dignity a losing game.
Hugh had taken from him his wife, and by that act was now takin