"Doan yo' wait hyar, Miss Kitty--" Oscar came forward a pace. "Jes' you an' Mister Rodgers go right along. I'll stay wid dis--" and he nodded significantly at Rodgers. The latter turned to take a last survey of the library. Not far from Cecelia Parsons lay a small furry body--both were rigid in death. "Come, sweetheart--" Rodgers slipped his arm around Kitty and they walked toward the drawing room. Once there Kitty gave way to the grief consuming her. "Poor Aunt Susan--how could Charles Craige have had the heart to kill her!" she exclaimed. "He was her trusted friend." "He was a man of masks," Rodgers said gravely. "A man of character, well educated, a social favorite and a brilliant lawyer, but heredity proved too strong for him." And as Kitty looked at him in question, he added, "Were you not aware that his father died insane?" Kitty shook her head. "I never knew it," she said. "How dreadful! The whole affair--Aunt Susan's death--her life, oh, Ted, her life!" "Hush!" Rodgers laid his finger gently on her lips. "Let us forget the tragedy in our happiness." Glancing shyly upward, Kitty read the worship in his eyes and her rapidly beating heart sang a glad response. "All my life I have prayed for love," she murmured as he took her in his arms; "even when I was only a little lonely child--and now to feel such happiness as I never even imagined. To have you with me always--" "In our Kingdom of Love"--Rodgers' tender, caressing voice was melody in her ears--"My queen--my queen!" THE END TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: Words and phrases that were typeset in italics in the original book are noted here by an underscore (_) before and after. Phrases that were underlined in the original book are noted by ~ before and after in this ebook. Minor changes have been made to correct obvious misspellings and typesetter errors, and to regularize hyphenation.