“I should not know one peaceful moment if you went back,” she declared. “I should not have told you; I did not mean to tell you,” said her husband. “It was my right to know,” Sadie answered, adding anxiously: “You will not go back, Waverley? To-morrow you will write a note and ask to be excused from service until after they move to the new building.” He was silent a moment, as if weighing her words, then said: “That is a good idea, Sadie--that of excusing myself, I mean. But, on the whole, I do not think I will send a note. I will just call around there in the morning and see the boss. I can explain more fully, and perhaps get leave without giving offense. I do not wish to lose my place, you know. It is a good one, and the salary is fair.” “But I would rather you would send the note. I cannot bear the idea of your ever stepping over that threshold again,” exclaimed Sadie fearfully. Manlike, he laughed at her womanly fears. “I must go, for I do not like to lose my place, but I shall not stay more than ten minutes,” he said. “Mind, Waverley, that you don’t let slip a word about Fair being here, for no one is to know,” admonished Sadie. “Not even Mrs. Howard?” he questioned, in surprise. “No; for Fair thinks it is better so. She declares she will not drag that good woman into her trouble with that wretch.” “And Bayard Lorraine?” “He is not to know, either. Fair thinks there is no need. She declared that she will leave New York soon and go South or West, and that next time she will hide herself so cleverly that no detective can get upon her track again.” CHAPTER XXXIV. A DOUBLE TRAITOR. In the morning, when Fair made her appearance at breakfast in one of her friend’s dresses, Mr. Osborne thought she was more beautiful than ever; but he did not give utterance to the thought, for he feared that she might be thinking already of the vengeance Belva Platt had taken on her because of his admiration. He greeted her kindly and cordially, as if she had been an old friend, and placed her at once at her ease. “I hope you will make this your home as long as you feel safe, for Sadie will be only too happy to have you here,” he assured her, and his cordial kindness made Fair feel quite remorseful over the treatment he had received from herself and mother. “I hope he has quite forgotten it all by now. At least, I know he does not regret it, for my dear friend Sadie makes him the best wife in the world,” she decided, as she observed the fond glances that passed between the wedded pair. “Oh, how sweet is love, whether in the highest or the lowest walks of life,” she mused sadly, with a weary sigh to the memory of the brief, bright past, in which Bayard Lorraine had made her so happy with his love. Her eyes grew dim as she remembered all that Sadie had told her last night about her visit to Mrs. Howard that afternoon.