Geoffrey Hilliard laughed.

"It would be difficult to find the person whom Pixie does _not_ love.
He is handsome, and he was kind to her when she was lonely. She loves
him as she loves a dozen other friends. But--"

"_But_!" repeated Stephen Glynn eloquently.

He who had missed the greatest of earthly gifts yet realised enough of
its mystery to join in that eloquent protest. He smoked in silence for
several moments, while his thoughts wandered backwards.

"_She would have helped you through_!"

The echo of those words rang in his ears; he heard again the musical
tone of the soft Irish voice, saw again the sweet, deep glance. Strange
that those words had in the very moment of utterance uprooted the
conviction of years! Lying prisoner on his couch, he had been thankful,
in a grim, embittered fashion which had belied the true meaning of the
word, that love had not entered into his life. It would have been but
another cross to bear, since no woman could be expected to be faithful
to a maimed and querulous invalid. Now in a lightning flash he realised
that there were women--this Irish Pixie, for example--whose love could
triumphantly overcome such an ordeal. _She_ would have "_helped him
through_" and, supported and cheered by her influence, his recovery
would doubtless have been far more speedy. He straightened himself, and
said quickly--

"Miss O'Shaughnessy would make a charming wife. For Stanor's sake I
could not wish anything better than that she may be ready to fulfil her
promise at the end of the two years."

"There's no doubt about that," said Geoffrey gravely. "She will be
ready. There's more than a grain of obstinacy in Pixie's nature--very
amiable obstinacy, no doubt, but it may be just as mischievous on such
occasions as the present. She has given her word and she'll stick to
it, even if she recognises that she has made a mistake. We may talk,
but it will have no effect. Unless your nephew himself releases her,
she will feel as much bound as if they had been married in Westminster
Abbey. It's the way she's made--the most faithful little creature under
the sun! It will be our duty to protect her against herself, by making
the young fellow understand that for her sake, almost more than his own,
he must be honest, and not allow a mistaken sense of honour to urge him
to repeat his proposal if his heart is not in it. He could make Pixie
his wife, but he could never make her happy. The most