The two men shook hands and Lydon drove to the station, thinking very much over Stormont’s somewhat humiliating confession. How deceitful are appearances! In the eyes of the local circle round Effington, the man with his lavish expenditure must have passed as a person of considerable wealth. And yet the real truth was that he was living, in a sense, from hand to mouth, and that any day might see him stripped of his fair possessions. Well, the way was perfectly clear to him now. He would run down again next week and ask Gloria to marry him. He would make a lucid statement of his position to her uncle, if he were not already aware of it. Stormont was a weak man, a foolish man in most important respects, but he was certainly not simple-minded, and he seemed to possess an amazing amount of information about other people. He had probably seen a report of the elder Lydon’s will in the papers soon after his death, and knew the exact extent of Leonard’s fortune. The next week, availing himself of Stormont’s general invitation, he went down on the Friday, having written his host to that effect. The car met him as usual at the station, and to his great delight Gloria was on the platform to meet him. This was, of course, the first time she had ever done such a thing, as on the previous occasions he had travelled down with her uncle. When they reached the lodge gates, Lydon halted the car and suggested to the girl that they should walk up the avenue. She agreed, not without blushing slightly. He had been unusually quiet during the journey, as if he were pondering very deeply. No doubt with womanly intuition she guessed what was in his mind. Having resolved upon the step he was taking, he lost no time; as soon as the chauffeur was out of earshot, he spoke: “I was delighted to see you on the platform; somehow it seemed so intimate. The last time I was at Effington, your uncle brought me along here, and we had a very serious talk together. Perhaps he has told you something of this?” With a deep blush, the girl admitted that he was correct in his surmise, and this answer encouraged him to proceed. “I love you very much, Gloria. I wonder if you can care for me a little.” Her bosom heaved, there was a tender light in the deep blue eyes, her lips trembled slightly as she gave him her answer: “I think I can care for you more than a little.” The car by now had reached the stables: a bend in the avenue hid the lodge gates: there was nobody in sight. He did what any lover worthy of the name would do under such circumstances. He bent down and pressed his first kiss upon the sweet lips that made a tremulous response to his. He and this charming girl, whom he knew he had fallen in love with at first sight, were now betrothed lovers.