“Oh, Patty, Patty!” cried Waitstill, who could no longer hold back her tears. “How could you deceive me so? How could you shut me out of your heart and keep a secret like this from me, who have tried to be mother and sister in one to you ever since the day you were born? God has sent me much to bear, but nothing so bitter as this--to have my sister take the greatest step of her life without my knowledge or counsel!” “Stop, dear, stop, and let me tell you!” “All is told, and not by you as it should have been. We've never had anything separate from each other in all our lives, and when I looked in your bureau drawer for a bit of soft cotton--it was nothing more than I have done a hundred times--you can guess now what I stumbled upon; a wedding-ring for a hand I have held ever since it was a baby's. My sister has a husband, and I am not even sure of his name! “Waity, Waity, don't take it so to heart!” and Patty flung herself on her knees beside Waitstill's chair. “Not till you hear everything! When I tell you all, you will dry your eyes and smile and be happy about me, and you will know that in the whole world there is no one else in my love or my life but you and my--my husband.” “Who is the husband?” asked Waitstill dryly, as she wiped her eyes and leaned her elbow on the table. “Who could it be but Mark? Has there ever been any one but Mark?” “I should have said that there were several, in these past few months.” Waitstill's tone showed clearly that she was still grieved and hurt beyond her power to conceal. “I have never thought of marrying any one but Mark, and not even of marrying him till a little while ago,” said Patty. “Now do not draw away from me and look out of the window as if we were not sisters, or you will break my heart. Turn your eyes to mine and believe in me, Waity, while I tell you everything, as I have so longed to do all these nights and days. Mark and I have loved each other for a long, long time. It was only play at first, but we were young and foolish and did not understand what was really happening between us.” “You are both of you only a few months older than when you were 'young and foolish,'” objected Waitstill. “Yes, we are--years and years! Five weeks ago I promised Mark that I would marry him; but how was I ever to keep my word publicly? You have noticed how insultingly father treats him of late, passing him by without a word when he meets him in the street? You remember, too, that he has never gone to Lawyer Wilson for advice, or put any business in his hands since spring?” “The Wilsons are among father's aversions, that is all you can say; it is no use to try and explain them or rebel against them,” Waitstill answered wearily. “That is all very well, and might be borne like many another cross; but I wanted to marry this particular 'aversion,'” argued Patty. “Would you have helped me to marry Mark secretly if I had confided in you?” “Never in the world--never!”