“Did he ever question you as to how you ascertained I was ill?”

“No.  While I cannot explain my impression, I gathered at the time that he knew.”

“He credited Andrew Daney with that philanthropic job, Nan.  He does not know that my mother communicated with you.”

“Neither do you, Donald.  I have not told you she did.”

“I am not such a stupid fellow as to believe you would ever tell me anything that might hurt me, Nan.  One does not relish the information that one’s mother has not exhibited the sort of delicacy one expects of one’s mother,” he added bluntly.

“It is not nice of you to say that, Donald.  How do you know that Mr. Daney did not send for me?”

He smiled tolerantly.  “Before Daney would dare do that he would consult with my father, and if my father had consented to it he would never have left to Daney the task of requesting such a tremendous favor of you for his account.  If Daney ever consulted my father as to the advisability of such a course, my father refused to consider it.”

“What makes you think so, old smarty?”

“Well, I know my father’s code.  He had no hesitancy in permitting you to know that you were not welcome as a prospective daughter-in-law, although he was not so rude as to tell you why.  He left that to your imagination.  Now, for my father to ask a favor of anybody is very unusual.  He has a motto that a favor accepted is a debt incurred, and he dislikes those perennial debts.  My father is a trader, my dear.  If he had, directly or indirectly, been responsible for your return to Port Agnew for the purpose of saving his son’s life, he would not be—­well, he just wouldn’t do it,” he explained with some embarrassment.  “He couldn’t do it.  He would say to you, ’My son is dying because he finds life uninteresting without you.  If you return, your presence will stimulate in him a renewed interest in life and he will, in all probability, survive.  If you are good enough to save my son from death you are good enough to share his life, and although this wedding is about going to kill me, nevertheless we will pull it off and make believe we like it.’”

“Nonsense,” she retorted.

“Knowing how my father would act under such circumstances, I was dumfounded when he informed me this afternoon that you had agreed to perform under false pretenses.  He was quite certain you would proceed to jilt me, now that I am strong enough to stand it.  He said you had promised him you would.”

“I did not promise him.  I merely told him truthfully what my firm intention was at the time he demanded to be informed as to the nature of my intentions.  I reserved my woman’s right to change my mind.”

“Oh!”

“Had I made your father a definite promise I would have kept it.  If I were a party to such a contract with your father, Donald dear, all of your pleading to induce me to break it would be in vain.”