Page:The little blue devil (IA littlebluedevil00mackiala).pdf/311

If he—married her? But no, that would be unfair to both of them, even for her sake. She was so hunted and weary now, that she might agree to anything. It would be mean, besides he did not love her either, so that———

A still voice from some unsuspected depth in him called a low challenge, and Tony checked, puzzled, to search over all the ground again, while Pamela went on. Once the first difficulty was over, she felt a tremendous relief in speaking; she made no reservations; she told him all. When she paused after telling him of the trip to Linton, he turned round and faced her, his face lightening.

“Is that all?” he asked eagerly—“is that the only thing?”

“Oh, no, there was something else after that.”

His face resumed its tense expression, and he turned his head away again as she continued, but gradually as the story neared its end he faced round until his eyes were resting on her, and at her final protest—“and they talked as if I were dreadfully to blame, until I began to wonder if I really had been quite wicked, but—I didn’t do anything, did I?” he laughed outright, crying, “Of course you didn’t, darling!” and smiling at her as if she had told him something quite funny. The relief was so great that for a moment all the difficulties in front of them seemed dwarfed. That blessed child! What brutes, to try and bully her into thinking she had done something wrong, and—yet, the story might quite easily have ended differently. He took her hands in a passion of joy at having her safe, and they were silent for a little.

She smiled back at him, but dubiously. It was not really an amusing story, but—oh, everything was most happily over now, and here was Tony sitting very close to her, taking both her hands in his protective grasp, and looking at her with eyes which made her forget all the rest of the world.