“Why didn’t you ask me before?” she said slowly.

“I couldn’t.  She made me promise not to—­mother made me promise not to.  Nineteen years ago she took a terrible spell.  We thought she couldn’t live through it.  She implored me to promise not to ask you to marry me while she was alive.  I didn’t want to promise such a thing, even though we all thought she couldn’t live very long—­the doctor only gave her six months.  But she begged it on her knees, sick and suffering.  I had to promise.”

“What had your mother against me?” cried Janet.

“Nothing—­nothing.  She just didn’t want another woman—­any woman—­there while she was living.  She said if I didn’t promise she’d die right there and I’d have killed her.  So I promised.  And she’s held me to that promise ever since, though I’ve gone on my knees to her in my turn to beg her to let me off.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?” asked Janet chokingly.  “If I’d only known!  Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“She made me promise I wouldn’t tell a soul,” said John hoarsely.  “She swore me to it on the Bible; Janet, I’d never have done it if I’d dreamed it was to be for so long.  Janet, you’ll never know what I’ve suffered these nineteen years.  I know I’ve made you suffer, too, but you’ll marry me for all, won’t you, Janet?  Oh, Janet, won’t you?  I’ve come as soon as I could to ask you.”

At this moment the stupefied Anne came to her senses and realized that she had no business to be there.  She slipped away and did not see Janet until the next morning, when the latter told her the rest of the story.

“That cruel, relentless, deceitful old woman!” cried Anne.

“Hush—­she’s dead,” said Janet solemnly.  “If she wasn’t—­but she is.  So we mustn’t speak evil of her.  But I’m happy at last, Anne.  And I wouldn’t have minded waiting so long a bit if I’d only known why.”

“When are you to be married?”

“Next month.  Of course it will be very quiet.  I suppose people will talk terrible.  They’ll say I made enough haste to snap John up as soon as his poor mother was out of the way.  John wanted to let them know the truth but I said, ’No, John; after all she was your mother, and we’ll keep the secret between us, and not cast any shadow on her memory.  I don’t mind what people say, now that I know the truth myself.  It don’t matter a mite.  Let it all be buried with the dead’ says I to him.  So I coaxed him round to agree with me.”

“You’re much more forgiving than I could ever be,” Anne said, rather crossly.

“You’ll feel differently about a good many things when you get to be my age,” said Janet tolerantly.  “That’s one of the things we learn as we grow older—­how to forgive.  It comes easier at forty than it did at twenty.”

Chapter XXXV

The Last Redmond Year Opens

“Here we are, all back again, nicely sunburned and rejoicing as a strong man to run a race,” said Phil, sitting down on a suitcase with a sigh of pleasure.  “Isn’t it jolly to see this dear old Patty’s Place again—­and Aunty—­and the cats?  Rusty has lost another piece of ear, hasn’t he?”