He would have done anything for her--he was her truest, best friend; but he was not her lover.
She hoped against hope.

Each day she counted the kind words he had said to her; she noted every glance, every look, every expression.

But she could not find that she made any progress--nothing that indicated any change from brotherly friendship to love.

Still she hoped against hope, the chances are that she would have died of a broken heart.
Then the season ended.

She went back to Verdun Royal with Lady Peters, and Lord Arleigh to Beechgrove.