to herself the life which she had
missed. She seemed to rise above all that, and Wilford, had he read her
heart, would have found no evil there.

"Poor Morris," she kept repeating, while little throbs of pleasure went
dancing through her veins, and the world was not one-half so dreary for
knowing he had loved her. Toward Wilford, too, her heart went out in a
fresh gush of tenderness, for she knew how one of his jealous nature
must have suffered.

"I'll drive down to the office for him this afternoon," she said. "That
will surely please him; and to prove still further that I never dreamed
of Morris' love, I'll tell him coming home how in the great sorrow about
Genevra I went to him for counsel, and how he sent, or rather, brought
me back."

But this confession would necessitate her telling that Genevra was not
dead, and it was better for them both, she thought, that he should not
know this until the relations between herself and him were more as they
used to be; so she decided finally to withhold the fact for a time at
least. But she would go for him, as she had at first intended, and she
counted the hours impatiently, thinking once her watch had stopped, and
seeming brighter and happier than she had been since her illness, when
at last she stepped into her carriage, and was driven down Broadway.

Business had gone wrong with Wilford that day, and Tom Tubbs had
mentally pronounced his master "crosser than a bear," and sighing
secretly for the always cheerful Mark, he had taken up his book, and was
quietly reading by the office window when Katy came in, her white face
seeming whiter from contrast with her black dress, and her eyes looking
unnaturally large and bright as she darted across the room to Wilford,
who, surprised to see her there, and a good deal displeased withal,
inasmuch as he had often said that the office was no place for his wife,
never smiled or spoke, but with pent up brows waited for her to open the
conversation. Katy saw she was not welcome, and with a tremulous voice
she began:

"The day is so fine I thought I would come in the carriage for you. It
is early yet, and if you like, we can have a little drive. It might do
you good. You look tired," she continued, and unmindful of Tom, trying
to smooth his hair.

With an impatient gesture, Wilford drew his hand away from the pale
fingers which sought their fellows in a nervous clasp as Katy tried not
to think Wilford cross, even after he replied: