"_Comme ca_! It seems I am a negligible quantity. Possibly have been all along. The notion does not comfort a man's natural vanity. But on the whole . ." he paused; smiling at the concern in Quita's eyes, "on the whole, _petite soeur_ . . . I am profoundly relieved! I should have proposed . . yes; and enjoyed a few weeks of Elysium. But it is certain I should never have delivered myself permanently into the hands of a woman! After that, it u useless to ask for your blessing, _n'est ce pas_?" "Quite useless!" But the hands stretched out to him belied her words; and as he knelt beside her once more, she set them upon his shoulders and kissed his forehead. "This time I give you up for good, Michel!" she said, smiling. "At least I have done my level best for you; so my conscience is clear. But it is written that 'no man may redeem his brother'; and I might have known that Providence was not likely to make an exception in favour of a woman!" "Is it perhaps a step towards redemption if, on your account, I give up playing with the _feu sacre_ of the heart, and confine myself to the only form of it that the gods appear to have granted me?" "_Dieu vous garde_," she whispered, and kissed him again. CHAPTER XXXVI. "I have my lesson; understand The worth of flesh and blood at last." --Browning. "Oh, Theo--it is too cruel. Too terrible! What on earth is one to tell her?" "Anything but the truth," Desmond answered decisively, his gaze reverting to the telegram in his hand. It was from the Resident of Kashmir; bald and brief, yet full of grim possibilities. "Captain Lenox dangerously ill at Darkot. Rheumatic fever. Doctor sent out. Will wire further news. Writing." Desmond read and re-read the words mechanically, an anxious frown between his brows. Then, looking up again, he encountered his wife's eyes, heavy with tears; and his arm enfolded her on the instant. "Bear up, my darling, like the plucky woman you are," he commanded gently, his lips against her cheek. "It's not the worst. By God's mercy we may get him back yet. You must keep on upholding her a little longer; that's all. I know it has been a strain for you,--this last fortnight; so soon after your own affair too." For they themselves had been enriched by a new life, a new link in the chain that bound them--a bright-haired daughter not yet four months old. Honor did not answer at once; but leaned upon him, choking back her sobs, soothed by the magnetism of his hand and voice, that seemed always to leave things better than they found them. When her tears were under control, she drew herself up, brushing them from her cheeks and lashes.