my sake he
enjoys it now for his own. We meet so many friends, and he can't help
being happy out in the sunshine with a lot of happy boys and girls all
round. He was quite keen about the tournament, and had such a pretty
partner. He always walked home with her after the matches."

"How nice!" I said, and tried to be pleased and relieved, and succeeded
only in feeling irritated and rubbed the wrong way. How mean it sounds!
How selfish, and small, and contemptible! I just intend to _make_
myself feel glad, and to hope that Wallace may see more and more of that
pretty girl, and like her far better than me, and be right down thankful
that I refused him. So now, Una Sackville, you know what is expected of
you!

Vere liked Lorna, and was amused to see us frisking about together. The
afternoon before Lorna left we were chasing each other round the room in
some mad freak when, turning towards Vere's couch, I thought I saw her
head raised an inch or so from the pillow in her effort to follow our
movements. My heart gave a great thud of excitement, but I couldn't be
sure, so I took no notice, but took care to retire still further into
the corner. Then I looked round again, and, yes! it was perfectly true,
her head was a good three inches from the couch, and she was smiling all
the time, evidently quite free from pain.

"Oh, Vere!" I cried; "oh, darling, darling Vere!" and suddenly the
tears rolled down my cheeks, and I trembled so that I could hardly
stand. Lorna could not think what had happened, neither could Vere
herself, and I tried hard to calm myself so as not to excite her too
much.

"You raised your head, Vere! Oh, ever so high you raised it! You were
watching us, and forgot all about yourself, and it didn't hurt you a
bit--you smiled all the time. Try again if you don't believe me--try,
darling. You can do it, if you like!"

Her breath came short with nervousness and agitation, but she clenched
her hands and with a sudden effort her head and neck lifted themselves
one, two, a good three or four inches from their support. Oh, her face!
The sight of it at that moment was almost enough to make up for those
long months of anxiety. It was illuminated; it shone! All the weary
lines and hollows disappeared, the colour rushed to her cheeks; it was
the old, lovely, radiant Vere, whom we had thought never to see again.

I can't describe what we did next. Mother came in and cried, father
came in and clap