A fire was burning, and she still held Drake's letter in her hand.

'We might keep it to ourselves,' she said diffidently.

She saw Drake's forehead contract.
'For my sake,' she said softly, laying a hand upon his sleeve.

She lifted a tear-stained face up to his with the prettiest appeal.

'I know you hate it, but it will spare me so much.' He said nothing, and she dropped the letter into the fire.
As Drake was leaving the house she heard, through the closed door, the sound of her father's voice in the hall speaking to him, and felt a momentary pang of alarm.