He rose to go, taking leave of Esther last of all. Then he turned to her with both hands extended. She placed her own in his. He drew her towards him, and without a word, turned and was gone. Esther withdrew, and Edith and Carla soon followed, leaving John Clayton and his wife seated before the fireplace. "Well, John!" said the wife. "Well, my dear?" responded the husband, apparently surmising what was coming. "Kenneth _loves_ Miss Bright." "Well, is this the first time you have suspected that?" As though he had always suspected it. "No! But--" "But what?" "Is he worthy of her, John?" "Don't be foolish, Mary. Kenneth is a true and honorable man. Yes--" pausing to listen to her expostulations,--"I know he used to drink some; but I never saw him intoxicated. He played cards as we do here, and when he was in the company of men who gambled, he gambled too." "But morally, John. It's goodness that a woman cares most about. Is he all right morally?" He drew his chair close to hers. "I believe Kenneth to be clean morally. If he had been immoral here, I should have known of it. And yet he, like the other men, has been surrounded by temptation. What is gross does not appeal to him. I have never known him to speak lightly of any woman. For you and Edith he has the deepest respect; for Carla, he has the utmost compassion; and for Miss Bright, (bless her!) he has a reverence I have never seen any man show to any woman." "Then he loves her, doesn't he?" "He never told me so," he answered, smiling; "I doubt if he has told her." "But after that good-by to-night," she persisted, "I _know_ he loves her." "I hope he does, Mary, and that she cares for him. I don't see how she could help it. I'd like to see them happy,--as happy as you and I are, Mary." He leaned toward her, resting his cheek against hers. "As happy as we are, Beloved. Twenty years married. Am I right? And lovers still." "Yes, twenty happy years," she said, "twenty happy years. But, John, do you think Miss Bright would make Kenneth happy? Would she give up her philanthropic ideas to devote herself to one ordinary man?" "Oh, that's what's troubling you now, is it?" he asked, laughing outright. Then he spoke seriously: "I believe Miss Bright could and would make Kenneth supremely happy. You know she is domestic in her tastes, and I believe home would always be her first consideration. But she is such a broad, public spirited woman she would always be a public benefactor. And Kenneth is not an ordinary man. You know that well. He is superior. I do not know of any man for whom I have such a strong friendship." "I like Kenneth, too," she admitted. "But I was just thinking." He rose and covered the embers for the night. "Better leave them alone," he suggested. "Their story is so beautiful I'd not like to have it spoiled." "John!" "Yes, Mary." "I just thought of something!" "Remarkable! What did you think of?" "Kenneth will inherit a large fortune, won't he?" "Of course."