"I hope you may be glad, for it will leave you free to live the life you like the best. Only remember a home with me is always waiting for you. I know you like Florence, and she's ready to mother you if necessary—in any case to welcome you always. We are such old folk that we mean to walk in quietly to a London church one day very soon and come out man and wife. Write to me, dear, and let me know what you think of— "Your devoted old Uncle "DERRICK. "Tell me how your aunt is, and when you go to Orleans. I am so thankful that the responsibility of the Château will no longer be hers." Guy read this through, folded it up slowly and thoughtfully and then handed it back to Adrienne. "You have been between two fires," he said. "Each of them wanting you badly. Poor little woman!" His sympathetic tone brought the tears again with a rush. "I can't explain it to you, but everything, everyone seems to be swept away from me. I was so happy, so content before I came over here! And now—now my two best friends have married, or are just going to marry each other, and neither of them will be the same to me again. Uncle Derrick I adored! And now he, and my home will not be mine any longer. Mrs. Winter is nice, but she's a London Society woman, and I hate town and town ways. It's just pure selfishness on my part, for I believe she'll make Uncle Derrick very happy. They've always been fond of each other. Well, I have failed him, and made him feel lonely and forlorn, and now it's my turn, and I can't complain!" There was a moment's pause. Adrienne felt ashamed of her outburst, and was pulling herself together when Guy deliberately put his arm round her and drew her towards himself. "You shall not be either lonely or forlorn," he said, strong passion vibrating in his voice. "I want you as never man wanted a woman before. And I'll undertake to keep you from tears if you give yourself to me. I've been snubbed off, I know, but I'm not going to be snubbed off now. I know this, that if love and devotion can make you happy, you'll have it in me. Give me a chance to show you what I can do. I'm tired of restraining and curbing my feelings. I want to tell you what you've been to me since that first happy day when your little feet entered my home. Don't fret over your uncle! If you knew how desolate a man's life can be when he's shut into himself and grey memories, without any hope to look forward to, you would be glad that he's solved his problem. In any case, he wouldn't have wished to keep you single all your life just to attend on him. Adrienne sweet, dearest, let me kiss those tear-stained eyes. I must. I long to comfort you so!"