imself for his stupidity in not having confessed to her long ago! "Why
was I such a fool, Eleanor, as not to know that you were a big woman?
Mrs. Houghton knew it. Why, even Edith knew it! She told me you'd
forgive anything."

"_What_!" She rose abruptly and stood looking at him with suddenly angry
eyes. "Does Edith know?" she said.

"No! Of course she doesn't know--_this_! But one day she and I were
taking a walk, and I was thinking what a devilish mess I was in.... And
I suppose Edith saw I was down by the head, and she got to talking about
you--"

"You let her talk about me!"

"She was saying how perfectly fine you had been about the mountain--"

"I don't need Edith Houghton's approval of my conduct, Maurice." She was
trembling, and her face was quite pale. He rushed in deeper than ever:

"I was only saying I felt so--badly, because I had failed to make you
happy. Of course I didn't say how! And she said, 'Don't have any secrets
from Eleanor!'"

"So it was Edith who made you--"

For a moment Maurice was too dismayed to speak; besides, he didn't know
what to say. What he did say was that she misunderstood him. "Good
heavens! Eleanor, you didn't think I'd tell Edith a thing like _that_?
Or that I'd tell any woman, when I didn't tell you? But Edith knew you
better than I did; she said no matter what I'd done (I just happened to
say I was a skunk), you loved me enough to forgive me. And you have
forgiven me."

"Yes," she said, in a whisper; "I've forgiven you."

She went over to the window, and stood perfectly silent. It was raining
steadily; the river, a block away, was hidden in the yellow fog; down in
the yard, the tables and chairs under the poplar dripped and dripped. As
for Maurice, it was as if some dark finger had stretched out and touched
a bubble.... She was the same Eleanor.

But he did not dwell upon this revealing moment; it was enough that at
last he could stop lying, and that Eleanor would help him about Jacky!
He called her back from the window and made her sit down again beside
him, pretending not to see how her hands were trembling. Then he went on
talking about Jacky.

"His latest achievement is an infernal mouth harmonicon."

She said, listlessly, "I wish I could give him music lessons."

"He's crazy about music; trails hand organs all over Medfield!" Maurice
said, with a great effort to be cheerfully casual; "but, Heaven knows,
I'd be glad if you could give him lessons in anything! M