“I am sorry,” said Margaret humbly.  “For all the world I would not have insulted you, and it is cruel that you should have had to think it of me.  I do apologise for any share I have had in it.”

Her heart and throat were almost bursting with agony as she spoke in those quiet tones, and he stamped away up the path with his back to her.

“Margaret!” he said, coming back and seizing her hands.  “I thought I was case-hardened, but just tell me that you loved me then!”

“I love you now,” she answered, crying a little.  “I am not of the sort that changes in the matter of loving.  Is it bold to say that, and I so unattractive?”

“Hang your unattractiveness!  Margaret, just say, ’I love you, Mark Ratcliff,’ and set me some atoning penance for my idiocy.  You do not know what a curse that vile paper has been to me,” and he shot the offending missive into the foolish little river and broke into vigorous and ungraceful language with regard to the writer.

“Hush, hush!” cried Margaret, in deep distress.  “She is my sister, and she could not know how much it meant to me.”

“Of course not!  And what did it matter to her that I must go hungry and thirsty all these years, cursing the whole of womankind because you had tricked me!”

“Oh, why did you distrust me?” exclaimed she sorrowfully, leaning back against the holly arbour in which they had sheltered, and bursting into downright weeping.

“What an amiable desire you evince to throw the fault on me, Margaret,” and he drew her hands from her face very gently; “must there be tears now that I have found you again?  Forgive me, dear.  I was worse than a fool to doubt you, but now we will leave room for no more possibilities of trouble and parting.  I am going to find out that other poor distrusted beggar, your friend Ailie’s lover, and let him know what you women accuse him of, and when I come back, we shall see!”

“See what?” gasped Margaret.

“What we shall see!” he returned, triumphantly.

* * * * *

“Awfully sorry to have been late for dinner, Mrs. Hart,” said Mr. Ratcliff, without the least appearance of distress, when he joined the ladies in the drawing-room; “I was unavoidably detained.  By the way, your party is not for another month, I think?”

“No,” she replied, wondering why her handsome friend looked so gleefully mischievous.  “I have fixed upon the thirtieth; I do not want to clash with Mrs. Dent and Mrs. Clarence.”

“Then I am commissioned to tell you that you may invite all the Misses Mildmay, without the least inconvenience.  Miss Mildmay the undesirable will not be in a position to accept your invitation.  It is anticipated that she will then be on her wedding tour as Mrs. Mark Ratcliff.”

“Good gracious!  How sudden!” exclaimed Mrs. Hart, opening her pretty blue eyes to their widest extent; and for the life of her she could not help adding under her breath, “And she so very unattractive!”