"I have known a long time," she answered in a low voice. "Ever since the letter came to you with the Rexland stamp." The sound of her voice and her attitude pierced to Rames's heart. His exultation gave way to concern. "I am very sorry, Cynthia," he said gently. "I tried to hide it." "Oh, my dear, I know you did. With all your strength you tried to hide it. You watched yourself each minute. But," and she turned to him with a little smile of tenderness, "I watched you closer still, and the longing grew too big to be hidden." Harry Rames made no pretence to deny the truth of her words, knowing full well that all denial would be vain. The screen was down between them. "Yes," he said; "but Cynthia, I keep my bargain." "My dear, there is no longer any bargain between us," she answered, "for on both sides there is love. Of that I am very sure." She held out her hands to him and he caught them and held her against his breast. "You said you had rather that drawer was not unlocked until both of us were dead," she whispered. "My dear, if that drawer was not to be unlocked, we might both of us be dead at once for all the value our lives were going to be. So you will go, you must, unless we are to be wrecked altogether. We have been most unhappy, both of us. I, because I thought of the dangers," and she suddenly caught him close as though even now she dared not let him go, "and could not bring myself to make the sacrifice and let you run the risk--you, because the call was always in your ears. It couldn't go on. That's the truth, Harry. Especially now that you know that your secret's no longer a secret to me. We should grow estranged, embittered, each one thinking the other horribly selfish. Perhaps, even hatred might come." "No," protested Harry. "Oh, yes, yes. It has come from smaller causes often enough. It might come, Harry, and that would be terrible. I have thought it out, my dear. All the time we were cruising down in the West I was thinking our position over and over and over. And it seemed to me that you must win this Hickleton election first--and then I would tell you that I understood your great trouble and let you go. But you had to win first. I couldn't let you go while people might be able to say that you had gone because you had been beaten in your political ambitions. I was too proud of you, my dear, to allow that. You must lay down your career at a moment of success, leaving behind you a good name amongst your colleagues and perhaps a great many regrets. But you have won the election now, you have made good, as they say, and so, for both our sakes, you must go." She drew herself out of his arms and moved away to the fire. "Of course it's just what I wanted when I first met you, isn't it?" she said with a wavering effort of a laugh. "I urged you to go back and finish your work the first time I met you--one night at the Admiralty. Only things have changed a good deal since then, haven't they?"