Needless to say, I shall be
charmed if you will join me."
But he did not mean to talk upon intimate subjects, and his tone
conveyed as much. She lingered for a while, and they spoke of the
farm, the cattle, Burke's prospects, everything under the sun save
personal matters. Yet there was no barrier in their reserve. They
avoided these by tacit consent.
In the end she left him, feeling strangely comforted. Burke had
been right. The devil had gone out of Guy, and he had come back.
She pondered the matter as she went about her various tasks, but
she found no solution thereof. Something must have happened to
cause the change in him; she could not believe that Kieff's
departure had effected it. Her thoughts went involuntarily to
Burke--Burke whose wrath had been so terrible the previous night.
Was it due to him? Had he accomplished what neither Kieff's skill
nor her devotion had been able to achieve? Yet he had spoken of
Guy as one of his failures. He had impressed upon her the fact
that Guy's, case was hopeless. She had even been convinced of it
herself until to-day. But to-day all things were changed. Guy had
come back.
The thought of her next meeting with Burke tormented her
continually, checking all gladness. She dreaded it unspeakably,
listening for him with nerves on edge during the busy hours that
followed.
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