Chapter 34 - Page 2

and
her gladness in his pleasure in them touched him to the core. He also
knew that she wished him to see that she was well and strong and never
tired or languid. There was, perhaps, one thing she could do for him and
she wanted to prove to him that he might be sure she would not fail him.
He allowed her to perform small services for him because of the dearness
of the smile it brought to her lips--almost a sort of mothering smile.
It was really true that she wanted to be his little slave and he had
imagination enough to guess that she comforted herself by saying the
thing to herself again and again; childlike and fantastic as it was.

She taught him to sleep as he had not slept for a year; she gave him
back the power to look at his food without a sense of being repelled;
she restored to him the ability to sit still in a chair as though it
were meant to rest in. His nerves relaxed; his deadly fatigue left him;
and it was the quiet nearness of Robin that had done it. He felt younger
and knew that on his return to London he should be more inclined to
disbelieve exaggerated rumours than to believe them.

On the evening before he left Darreuch they sat at the Tower window
again. She did not take her sewing from its basket, but sat very quietly
for a while looking at the purple folds of moor.

"You will go away very early in the morning," she began at last.

"Yes. You must promise me that you will not awaken."

"I do not waken early. If I do I shall come to you, but I think I shall
be asleep."

"Try to be asleep."

He saw that she was going to say something else--something not connected
with his departure. It was growing in her eyes and after a silent moment
or so she began.

"There is something I want to tell you," she said.

"Yes?"

"I have waited because I wanted to make sure that you could believe it.
I did not think you would not wish to believe it, but sometimes there
are people who _cannot_ believe even when they try. Perhaps once I
should not have been able to believe myself. But now--I _know_. And
to-night I feel that you are one of those who _can_ believe."

She was going to speak of it.

"In these days when all the forces of the world are in upheaval people
are learning that there are many new things to be believed," was his
answer.

She turned towards him, extending her arms that he might see her well.

"See!" she said, "I am alive again. I am alive because Donal came back
to me. He comes every night and when he comes he is not dead. Can you
believe it?"

"When I look at you and remember, I can believe anything. I do not