"Shall you be lonely with us all out?" she asked solicitously. "I daresay I shall be all right, my dear," Mrs. Henchman replied, a little grudgingly. This weakness which had come upon her in the last few months was a sore trial--not an accepted trial--under which she chafed and fretted day by day. Denys longed to be able to say, "I will gladly stay and keep you company," but then Charlie had arranged this evening's engagement and she knew Mrs. Henchman would not allow it to be altered. Instead, she said, "Will Mary come up, and see if you want anything?" "I really can't say, my dear. Mary is a funny person. Run along now or you will be late for Charlie." Denys left her, but as she passed down the stairs she saw the kitchen door ajar, and with a sudden impulse she tapped at it. "Mary!" she said, "we are all going out. You will take care of Mrs. Henchman, won't you?" "Well, Miss!" Mary's tone and face were indignant. "I always _do_ take care of Mrs. Henchman." Denys retreated. "Oh, dear!" she said to herself as she closed the front door behind her. "I am afraid I have made a mistake." CHAPTER VII. HEIGHTS AND DEPTHS. It seemed to Denys as if she had never felt so absolutely happy, so blissfully content, as she did when with Charlie's arm tucked into hers, they left the station together and made their way down the steep hill to the church. All the worries of the day and the worries of the yesterdays had slipped from her, and not even the thought of Gertrude, awaiting them in the church porch, had power to disturb her. Charlie and she were together, and before them stretched the days, the hours, the minutes, the seconds of a whole week! A whole, long, lovely week, of which only five minutes had already gone! Charlie's voice, his dear, familiar voice, though it only spoke of the trivialities of his journey, seemed like music to her. She did not know how her heart had hungered for him, till she felt how satisfied she was now in his presence. They reached the church before she thought it possible; Gertrude was not in the porch, and Denys paused a moment in the doorway and glanced about for her. Yes! there she was, some distance down the aisle, comfortably ensconced between Mrs. Henchman's medical man, Dr. Wyatt, and his sister, and as Denys descried her, she turned her pretty face to answer some remark of the doctor's and caught sight of Denys and Charlie, and her smile and shake of the head were easily translated. "She is not going to sit with us," said Charlie, "so _that's_ all right." It was nearly eight o'clock, and Denys, full of her happy thoughts, let her eyes wander round the church, noting its pillars, its high arched roof, its electric lights, and the ever-increasing crowd which moved softly up the aisle till every seat that she could see was occupied.