When she spoke again it was in a very subdued tone of voice and with an
accent of keen self-reproach.

"Peter, I'm a selfish pig! All this time I've never been thinking of
you--only of ourselves. I believe it's your own fault"--with a rather
quavering laugh. "You've taught us all to expect so much from you--and
to give so little."

Mallory made a quick gesture of dissent.

"Oh, yes, you have," she insisted. "You're always giving and we
just--take! I never thought how hard a thing I was asking when I
begged you to come down to Mallow while Nan was with us. It was sheer
brutality to suggest it." Her voice trembled. "Please forgive me,
Peter!"

"My dear, there's nothing to forgive. You know I love Nan, that she'll
always be the one woman for me. But you know, too, that there's Celia,
and that Nan and I can never be more to each other than we are
now--just friends. I'm not going to forfeit that friendship--unless it
happens it would be best for Nan that we should forget we were even
friends. And I won't say it doesn't hurt to be with her. But there
are some hurts that one would rather bear than lose what goes with
them."

The grave voice, with the undertone of pain running through it, ceased.
Kitty's tears were flowing unchecked.

"Oh, Peter, Peter!" she cried sobbingly. "Why aren't you free? You