He stood on the hearth, facing her, with his back to the glowing logs, looking down upon her delicate features. She raised her eyes to his, speaking in a soft voice, with a faint smile flickering about her mouth. Quinney had fallen in love with her dimples. He thought he could see the ghost of one in the cheek slightly turned from the fire. His attitude, erect and sturdy, her attitude, the firelight, the lateness of the hour—these recalled insistently the sweet past, when Mrs. Biddlecombe used to leave the lovers to talk over the present and the future. Susan remembered, with an odd little pang at her heart, how satisfied she had been with that present, although Joe insisted upon forecasting their future. And his predictions, those ambitions which she had regarded as vaulting high above human probability, had come to pass. He was famous and rich! "Joe dear!" "What is it?" "You became engaged to me, didn’t you, against your father’s wish, and unbeknown to mother? Yes, you did." "And what of it?" "I never told mother that day you kissed me for the first time behind our parlour door." "Now, Susie, what are you gettin’ at? Circumstances alter cases. My father made a white nigger o’ me. But, by Gum! I wasn’t disobedient." "You were, and you know it." "What do you mean?" "You took up with me against his wish." "Ho! I honoured him by marrying the best girl in Melchester." Susan said solemnly: "You did deceive him, Joe." "Serve him right, too." "I say you deceived him." "Well, for the Lord’s sake, don’t go on sayin’ it, repeatin’ yourself like an old poll parrot. Father never did do you justice. He never did know quality. Quantity was what he’d go for. Lordy! how he used to waller in cheap job lots!" Susan ignored this. With slow pertinacity, working steadily to her point, she continued: "And I deceived my pore mother. Used to wear my engagement ring at night." She lifted her hand and looked at it. What a wonderful present it had been reckoned. Three turquoises with small brilliants, paid for out of the savings of a "white nigger"! Joe stared at the ring. It seemed to shine out of the past. He remembered everything. For instance, he had not haggled about the price demanded—six pounds! He had felt that haggling would be indecent. He said pensively: "I used to envy that ring, Susie. I used to think of you asleep, and wonder what you looked like." He sighed. "Great times them was, to be sure!" Susan met his glance. "Because of those times," she whispered, "go a bit easy, Joe, with these young people." But his face hardened immediately. "You leave that to me, my dear. I’ll fix ’em to rights. I’ll sweep the cobwebs out o’ their silly noddles." "If you’ll try not to forget that we was just as silly once." "Silly? Us? That won’t wash, Susie. Like mated like." Susan remained silent. *II*