"But suppose she will not believe me--what then?" "You will have done your best--you will at least have made atonement for your secrecy. If, with her eyes open, Lady Darrell marries Captain Langton after that, you will have nothing to blame yourself for. It will be hard for you, my darling, but it is the brave, right, true thing to do." "And you do not hate me, Vane?" "No; I love you even better than I did. The woman brave enough to own her faults and desirous to atone for them deserves all the love a man can give her. Pauline, when you have done this, my darling, may I ask you when you will be my wife?" She sobbed out that she was unworthy--all unworthy; but he would not even hear the words. "None the less dear are you for having told me your faults. There is only one word now, my darling, to keep in view; and that is, 'atonement.'" She looked up at him with happy, glistening eyes. "Vane," she said, "I will go to Darrell Court to-morrow. I shall never rest now until I have done what you wish me to do." So far had love redeemed her that she was ready to undo all the wrong she had done, at any cost to her pride. But love was to work even greater wonders for her yet. CHAPTER XXXVIII. PAULINE AND LADY DARRELL. Pauline communicated her resolution of going to Darrell Court to Miss Hastings, and that lady looked up in surprise almost too great for words. "You are going to Darrell Court to-morrow!" she exclaimed. "It cannot be, Pauline; you must not travel alone. If you go, I must go with you." But Pauline threw one arm caressingly round her friend's neck. "Do not try to stop me," she said, pleadingly, "and let me go alone. I did a great wrong at Darrell Court, and I must return to set it right. Only alone can I do that." "Pauline," asked Miss Hastings, gravely, "do you wish to atone for your revenge?" "I do," she replied, simply. "You must let me go alone; and when I come back I shall have something to tell you--something that I know will please you very much." Miss Hastings kissed the beautiful face. "It is as I thought," she said to herself--"in her case love has worked wonders--it has redeemed her." * * * * * Lady Darrell sat alone in her dressing-room; the autumn day was drawing to a close. Greatly to her delight and surprise, Captain Langton had unexpectedly appeared that morning. He knew that in the absence of Miss Hastings he could not stop at Darrell Court; but he was paying a visit, he told Lady Darrell, to Sir Peter Glynn, and hoped to see her every day. He had declined dining at the Court, but promised to spend some part of the evening there.