He had quite decided to conceal all about the letters. "Indeed, indeed I will; and I know I was wrong," she said. "I mean it's no good trying to help people too much. They must play their own game. You understand, don't you? Nigel was only to show me a letter he had written inviting the other girl to lunch--to take her away from Rupert. But it's all nonsense, and I'll have nothing more to do with it." "Then that's all right," said Percy, sitting down, with a great sigh of relief. "You didn't really think for a moment, seriously, that I ever--that I didn't--oh, you never stopped knowing how much I love you?" she asked, with tears in her eyes. Percy said that he had not exactly thought that. Also, he was not jealous--that was not the word--he merely wished her to promise never to see or speak to Nigel again as long as they lived, and never to recognise him if she met him: that was all. He was perfectly reasonable. "It's perhaps a little bit difficult in some ways, dearest. But I promise you faithfully to do my very, very best. And this I absolutely swear--I will never see him without your approving and knowing all about it. But as I shouldn't exactly like him to think you thought anything--I mean--I think you must leave it a little to me--to my tact, to get rid of him; and trust me. And I want you to know that I shouldn't care if I never saw him again. I don't even like him. And I really don't think he cares for me; I'm quite certain it's your fancy." "Can you give me your word of honour that he never----" "Never, by word or look," answered Bertha. "That's all right," said Percy. * * * * * Bertha sat on the arm of his chair and leant her head against his shoulder. At that moment he thought he had never known what happiness was before. Then she said: "It's all right now, then, Percy? That was all, and the cloud's gone?" "Quite, absolutely," he answered, mentally tearing the letters into little bits. Then she said: "Percy, of course you never really thought ... you never could think that I meant to deceive you in any way. ... But supposing Nigel had had any treacherous ideas--let us say, supposing that Nigel, though he's married, and all that--suppose you found out that he had liked me, and wanted to spoil our happiness? ... I mean, suppose you found out that he had been making love to me? ... What would you have done?" "I should have killed him," replied Percy. Could a man have said anything that would please a woman as much as this primitive assertion? Bertha threw her arms round his neck. She was perfectly happy. He was in love with her. CHAPTER XIII RECONCILIATION