"

"Thank you," said Rosalind meekly; so meekly that the other raised her
eyes in astonishment, to see whether the expression emphasised or
contradicted so unusual a tone. The lovely face looked down into hers,
wistful and quivering, and the blue eyes softened with tears. "Oh, kiss
me, Peggy!" she cried. "Be kind to me! I have no sister of my own, and
mother is away, and I came to you first of all! I made an excuse and
came down for two nights, just to have a talk with you and to ask you to
help me!"

"Help you!" echoed Peggy blankly. She was alternately amazed and
embarrassed by the manner in which Rosalind leant upon her in every
difficulty; but now, as ever, the spell of the winsome presence proved
irresistibly softening, and it was in a far gentler tone that she
continued. "If everything is settled, in what way do you want my help,
Rosalind?"

Rosalind sat down upon the sofa, still retaining her grip of her
friend's hand, and drawing her down on the seat by her own. She stared
aimlessly up and down the room, opening her lips as if about to speak,
and closing them again in despair of expressing her thoughts, until
suddenly the words came out in a breathless rush.

"I pwomised to marry him, and I mean to keep my word, but it is harder
than I thought. It would be easier if he were diffewent, but he loves
me so much, and believes in me, and thinks I must care for him too. If
he knew I had taken him for his position, he would despise me, and I
don't want him to do that. I have given up so much, and if he turned
against me too, what should I have left? It fwightens me to think of
it, and I came away to consider what I had better do, and to talk to you
and ask your advice." She looked at Peggy appealingly, and added in a
breathless whisper, "I want to do what is right, you know! I want to
treat him well! You think I am selfish and worldly, Peggy, but I am not
all bad. If I mawwy him, I will do my best. I want him to be fond of
me, not to grow tired or dissatisfied. That would make me wetched."

Peggy smiled pitifully. It was so like Rosalind to be distressed at the
idea of losing a love she could not return, and to show a pathetic
eagerness to make a wrong step right. Her own Spartan judgment could
never overlook the sin of preferring money before love, but she realised
that it was too late in the day to preach this doctrine, and cast about
in her mind for more practical advice.

"If you try to m