Mechanically at first, and afterwards with a purpose, he turned southwards to the tiny fiat where Cicely had established herself.  A trim little maid-servant showed him into her room, and she welcomed him with outstretched hands.  Yet he saw in the dim lamplight that her cheeks were pale and there was some measure of restraint in her greeting.

“You have come at last, then,” she said, gaily enough.  “Now you must let me give you some tea and afterwards you must tell me what you think of my rooms.  Of course, I haven’t finished furnishing yet, but they’re nice, aren’t they?”

He looked round approvingly.  Everything was very simple but dainty and comfortable.  A vase of beautiful chrysanthemums stood upon her writing-table, amber and pink and drooping white, they seemed to diffuse an almost illuminating glow.  A tiny tea-table was drawn up before a bright fire.  As he sat down by her side there swept over him once more a desire, keen, passionate, to escape from the turmoil of the last few months.  Here at least was rest.  The very homeliness of the little scene awoke in him the domestic instinct—­heritage of his middle-class ancestors.  Cicely chattered gaily to him.  She was very charming in her dark red dress, and she had so much to say about this sudden fame which had come to him—­so well deserved, so brilliantly won.  Her face was aglow with pleasure, a wave of tenderness swept over him.  He felt that it would be very pleasant to take her into his arms, to forget, with her little hands in his, those days of madness when he had yielded himself up to wild and passionate dreams of things impossible.  Better to bury them, to take such measure of happiness as would at least ensure content.  Life would surely be a sweeter and an easier thing lived out to the light music of the violins, than played to the deep storm throbbings of the great orchestra.  So he broke in upon her laughing congratulations and faced her gravely.

“You had my letter, Cicely?” Her face changed, her eyes sought his nervously.  “Yes.”  “You have thought about it?” “Of nothing else,” she answered.  “Well?”

She leaned over towards him.  “It made me at first very angry,” she said.  He glanced at her quickly.  She held up her hand.

“Now I am going to explain,” she said.  “You see, Douglas, when you asked me to be your wife I believed that you cared for me, well—­altogether—­and that you wanted it very much indeed.  If I had known then what your letter has since told me, what do you think that I should have said to you?”

“I do want it very much,” he repeated softly, “and I have always cared for you.”